My Runny Nosed Hime
by Ch0k-naT
Summary: I forgot so many things about you already, that I didn't even recognize you the first time I saw you, but that doesn't matter, because no matter how many times I forget,I know i'll just end up falling for you over and over again. CloTi
1. Hime and Chocobo kun

**Ch0knaT: -**wakes up from her deep lonely slumber- HELLLOOOO!..i'm alive again and I shall start making fics. (I honestly don't know if that's a good thing..XDDD)

Well this is inspired from My Cloud.I asked LockheartedAngel's approval (she's still in her deep slumber though..XD). . She thinks it might be the new version. XD. The plot's totally different though but there are elements that remain the same. e.g.: the CloTiness..XDDDD

So,here's the first chappie..i hope you guys like it..please do criticize me.

Here goes.

-backs out-

Here goes

-has second thoughts-

Here goes

-gets hit with papayas-

..Continues the fic

_PS: Hime means princess...XD_

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter I: Hime and Chocobo-kun**_

_The place was silent._

_Foggy._

_Cold._

_In that unfriendly setting stood two children. Their ages were roughly 6 or 7 or 8 or even 9. _

_One of them was a girl who had beautiful silky hair which was blown by the strong chilly wind. Her dress which was supposedly white was now covered in all sorts of grime. Her face too, which originally looked like a porcelain doll's, was now covered with a few scratches, a few marks of soil and a few tears running down its side. She seemed to be frightened. Very frightened._

_She was tightly holding onto a little boy. He was calmer. He had better composure than her. Or at least he tried to. Yes, he was trying to be brave. His golden hair was spiked out in all directions, it looked just like a chocobo I might add. His face was filled with more scratches and more dirt. His shirt too was dirtier and some parts of it had frayed. He looked more strained compared to the little girl. Nevertheless,his bright blue eyes were filled with compel. One could tell that he was trying to be very courageous for his delicate girl companion._

"_Chocobo-kun.." the runny nosed little girl broke the silence. She whispered what seemed to be his companion's name "Nothing's going to happen to me ne? You're going to save me whenever I'm in trouble, just like you promised..." she looked up and smiled at him._

_"You never break promises, right? ..Chocobo-kun?" The blond boy who was about two inches taller only nodded and held her hand tighter._

_He faced her and looked at her teary eyes intently,"Hime.." he said to her with an unruffled voice "...you say your mother is on the other side of this bridge?" The young boy continued his sentence and then pointed at a building on the other side. It was quite big, it looked scary. It had only a few dark windows and it had cracks on the exterior walls._

_As soon as the girl heard his question she nodded her head. "Yes, my mommy is there"_

"_Stay here, I'll go. Don't move okay? I'll get your mommy."_

"_Why can't-"_

"_The bridge looks scary and it might break. Just wait here okay? I'll come back..with your mommy.Don't be scared." The little girl nodded once more. She trusted that boy. _

_He tried to go towards the bridge,but she held him tighter. _

_"Trust me Hime" He said and grinned as if this was a game._

_She reluctantly let go of his hand and watched him as he walked carefully across the swaying bridge._

_It took only a few seconds till the boy was able to reach the other side. Happiness took over his feeling of fear and he immediately shouted out to the little girl "HIME! I'm on the other side now.Just stay there a little bit longer..okay?" He paused and waited for her reply. Silence._

_He waited for a few more seconds_

_Silence._

_"Answer me!"_ _he said once more. His hopes of her ever answering were slowly shattering._

"_Answer me!" the now worried little boy called out again,this time with tears flowing rapidly through his dirty cheeks. After some more seconds, he heard footsteps._

_Running._

"_Chocobo-kun! They're here!!! The ones who were chasing us, they found us!!" The little girl was screaming in fear,someone..somefive were seemingly chasing her... _

_Her figure was slowly emerging through the fog_

_She was going to make it! Chocobo-kun held out his hand,but four and a half steps short of reaching his hand..._

_SNAP. _

_The bridge broke. _

_The little boy only stood in fear and shock as he helplessly watched his crying Hime call out his name as she fell into the black pits. More tears were uncontrollably running down his bright blue eyes._

_**-THUMP-**_

A young raven haired teenager fell from her comfortable and luxurious bed. She rubbed her aching head and opened her eyes as she sat up and scanned her room. It was a new site for her, she just moved in yesterday and it was her first time to wake up in it. The wall was expertly decorated with pink and white lines and the floor was covered with a white fluffy carpet. Her bed was huge it had beautiful pillows and blankets to match with the wall,it kind of looked like those in fancy hotels and there was a well decked canopy to finish it off.Beside it was also a huge white cabinet . And beside that was a dresser filled with accessories and girly objects of all sorts.

The room was suited for a Princess.

"Ah Shit" _Another one of those dreams._

She blearily stood up and went to the bathroom to fix herself…

_This is going to be a fun day_

_----------------------------------------------_

**Ch0knaT:** The end. Of course I am kidding. This is only the first part.XD

Haha..it's only the start..quite boring ne?..Sorry,I'll put more action in the next chappie and of course more Cloti goodness later on. :)

Please read and review..critisize me if you must please.:)

PS: I still like compliments too though.:)

FEED ME.XDDDDDDD


	2. The Hot New Girl

**Ch0knat:** Mmm..My first chappie was rather short. I hope this one turns out longer. Happier. BETTER! Haha.Errmmm…enjoy.

Thanks for the review -starts handing out cookies-

Please pity my poor soul and review. XD. Criticisms are always welcome.

**Disclaimer: I wish Final Fantasy belongs to me.**

Here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter II: The Hot New Girl**_

Our black haired dreamer put her face nearer to the mirror as she examined the bump from this morning's fall.

" Gah. It's all red now" She said as she pressed a smaller version of materia in the red-bluish spot in her head. Her eyes twitched a little as the matter went in her flesh. It stung, but right after that, the mild swelling and the redness disappeared

"God, that burns" She rubbed the former sore area of her forehead as she left the mirror. She faced the huge shower cubicle and started undressing herself. This day had a cold morning; she shivered as she felt the coolness of the air around her. She shook her head, ignored her chilly surrounding, entered the glass cubicle and began to take a bath.

About fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of her lavish bathroom. She was already wearing her school uniform. She proceeded to her white cabinet, opened it, brought out a pair of long dark blue socks, and then she went to sit in front of her dresser to fix her wet hair.

Blower here.

Comb there.

After fixing her hair she grabbed a seemingly special pair of white pearl earrings and wore it.

She never leaves the house without wearing those earrings. It was her mother's.

Now that she's all ready, she went in front of yet another mirror. It was a body mirror. She looked at herself from the front, from the left side and then from the right. She thought her uniform looked okay and it was definitely better than her old one from her previous school. After all, she is going to (what she calls) a "rich-kid-school".

The attire consisted of a white blouse and a pleated skirt which had a checkered pattern of different shades of blue, black and grey. There was also a navy blue sweater to accompany it and of course a matching blue ribbon around the collar.

She took her last glimpse in the mirror, grabbed her bag and then walked to the door.

"Here goes" she whispered as she turned the doorknob.

Bacon.

The smell of bacon filled the house. She made her way down the huge and neatly designed staircase and made her way to the main dining room. A table filled with all sorts of breakfast food greeted her.

Bacon. Sausages. French toast. It was all there.

"Good morning Teef" a deep voice greeted her

"Good morning dear" a deeper and manlier voice greeted her again. She ignored their 'good mornings' and sat in her chair. She ignorantly grabbed some toast and bacon and began eating silently.

Her eyes darted at the young man in front of her. He had loose blond hair. He was older than her for maybe about three to five years. He sat there with his head leaning on his knuckles while he lazily ate his food. Tifa raised an eyebrow. Her blood boiled. His manner in front of the table was deplorable. One thing her mom taught her was to eat graciously, the blonde however didn't seem the least be grateful for his food.

"I'm tired of these father, we always have the same thing every morning" he said in an arrogant tone.

Tifa closed eyes in frustration and she tightened her hold on the knife and fork. Damn, she was irritated. She counted one to five in a hope to somehow relieve her annoyance.

No effect.

She turned to the older man who was reading the newspaper. He wore glasses and had black hair unlike the other male and he actually had some features which are the same with Tifa, only they were suited for a man. But he looked more serious.

She waited for his response.

"I'll go tell Marie to buy different kinds of food next time then, give her a list of whatever you want" The man said with an 'I-couldn't-care-less' attitude as he took a sip from his hot coffee.

This irritated her even more. Her mind was going to blow. She's been fuming since the day she got here. If the weather was any hotter she would've exploded like a fire cracker.

"Give a list of whatever you want shit" She gave an inaudible grunt before she put her own hot cup of coffee to her lips.

Was she jealous that her half brother gets everything he wants? Or was she upset that these people spent their money carelessly?

"Was there something you said? Is there something wrong Tifa?" Her father questioned her. However, he was still focused on the newspaper he had in his hand.

_Wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong. You took me away from my mother in Nibelheim. You sent me here to live with you all of the sudden. Yes, I am now living with my arrogant ass-hat father who never cared to visit us even once. I am living with the father who left me while he lived in total luxury with his other family. Oh and Rufus, how can I even begin to tell you what's wrong about your dear spoiled reckless son. And what else is wrong..hmmm? Children are dying in the slums! And you guys? You eat like kings everyday, but are you contented? Nooooooo. _

"Nothing" she plainly replied. She would've been caught tied upside in a pole within two seconds if she stated what was truly in her mind, so she just continued her stream of ranting thoughts and kept it to herself.

"Tifa, I'll have the driver take you to school." her father said firmly. He finally took his eyes away from the newspaper to look at her.

Stream of thoughts. Over.

"I'll be fine. I'll go by myself" She said, again, as cold as ever.

"Tifa, I'll have the driver take you to school." Mr. Lockheart said again, this time firmer. She knew that that was the end of the conversation. Her father seems to have gotten mad over her decline. Tifa wanted to protest, but she knew better. She took a deep breath. She can't do anything about it anymore. She was riding the car…with Rufus.

After a few more bites the two, Tifa and Rufus, stood up as they heard the driver beep. It was a signal that it was time to leave. At first Tifa didn't mind not kissing his father's cheek or saying good bye to him. But, the gentle side of her took over, she gave him a light peck on the cheek and said good bye.

-

He was still her father, and no matter how frustrating the things he does are. He still had a place in her heart. She would be nothing, literally nothing, without him. She also couldn't say that he never showed concern; after all, he gave huge financial support for both her and her mother in back Nibelheim. And of course, her mother would be disappointed if she didn't appreciate him.

She made her way out the enormous door and proceeded to the car. Thought she was hallucinating when she saw the word 'expensive' written all over the black shiny vehicle.

She took another deep breath as Rufus closed the door and sat beside her. The raven haired teenager didn't speak a syllable. She didn't want to make even the shortest of conversations, so she just looked out the tinted window.

They passed buildings and parks of all sorts down their way. This was definitely not the usual route. The route Tifa knew was much shorter, but she figured they rode this way because they had to drop Rufus at his college off first.

A few more minutes passed and they reached the University. The place was gigantic. There were people everywhere. There were parked cars all over which looked even more expensive than theirs. Tifa marveled at how big and prolific the campus was. All the buildings were white and there were large dark blue glass windows in each of them. The lawn, which was surrounded by the buildings, looked like a field of emeralds, the grass was green and healthy and the flowers of different colors around it were also astounding. In the middle of the lawn was a sign that was made of silver and there were letters that were beautifully crafted; it made out the words: "Midgar University".

As much as the 17 year old wanted to see more of the structure, they had to leave, this unfortunately wasn't her school. The car drove off as soon as Rufus stepped out.

Tifa, once again, looked out the window and viewed what surrounded her.

Midgar had gone a long way, well, atleast, this Sector has. She remembered this place as an old bewildered city. The buildings weren't even half as beautiful as they are now. Heck, the streets weren't even paved back then. People young and old used to scatter around, and there was no place to eat in, but now, now, restaurants were everywhere. Towering buildings also filled the whole metropolitan.

The car finally stopped. She blew her bangs up as she saw the place. Of course, her high school wasn't as lavish as Rufus' University but the structure was almost the same, only smaller. This was probably because the owner was the same corporation or something. The exterior wasn't enough to win her over to completely like the school though. She still knew where she stood.

Tifa opened the door of the car, stepped out of the car and walked to find the office. She was supposed to go there first, since it was only her first day.

She entered the main corridor and for about two seconds, all eyes were on her, but after that the people got back and went on with their own businesses.

The place was pretty normal. There were lockers, lecture halls, offices. The resources though looked awfully expensive.

Tifa never got intimidated by the kids at this school. Her impressions were right; this was truly a 'rich-kid-school'. The students had signature bags and clothes. They also had all these different kinds of gadgets, but our raven haired teenager didn't mind, though she wasn't used to it. She grew up in a normal school you see.

She remembered that back in Nibelheim, it was only her and Elena who had these sorts of items. I mean, she was a rich kid too but it's not like she cared, she was never a materialistic girl.

As she walked down the halls, she passed down her innocent judgments on the groups she crossed paths with. There were the usual punks, the preppy cheerleaders, the nerds and of course the occasional emos. She knew though, that there was more to this school than regular movie stereotypes. Midgar High was known for a whole bunch of things. Good and bad.

The new girl seemed to be going around in circles. She was lost. After a few more turns, she decided to quit trying to find the office by herself. She sighed and as she turned her head to look for someone she could ask questions to, she saw three guys walk towards her. They certainly don't seem to be the type of people she'd get along with.

"Oh hello missy" One boy said slyly "New here huh?"

Tifa didn't reply.

_Agh,I think I'm gonna be sick_.

It was only her first day and these dudes were already bothering her. She wasn't going to deal with them. Her morning was bad enough.

"So you are new?"

"Hey..answer up!"

"Yes. And now if you could please excuse me" She tried to walk pass them, but they pushed here back "What the?"

"We just want to talk to you"

"We can talk some other day" she said calmly

"No. NOW!" the red head seems to already be frustrated

"Some.Other.Day." Tifa wasn't afraid of these bullies. She was already clenching her fists when she felt someone hold her by the shoulder.

"Now now, let's take it easy, ne?" The raven haired girl heard a soft female voice. She seems to be in luck that this brown haired girl approached them. The boys immediately nodded and went off. Tifa turned to face her "new found friend". Tifa thanked all the Gods in Gaia that she came.

"Hey there" Tifa didn't react at first. She was stunned at how pretty this girl was; she had brown curly hair which was tied up in a pink bow and her green eyes were ever so sweet and radiant.

_She must be popular. She must be the type who everyone talks about, the type who'd get A's and still have the time to hang out and date. The type who everyone, even the punks, listen to._

Shortly after Tifa was approached by this pleasant girl a guy with black spiky hair went towards them. He put his arm around the green eyed girl's shoulder.

"Ooh. Hot new girl. Man, you're pretty brave in facing those punks there. Most girls would scream and run to their mommies" The boy said with a grin and he held out his hand in a peace sign.

_He's probably her boyfriend._

Tifa thought he was equally beautiful. Beautiful, in a manly sense I mean. He had gray eyes and his face looked bold, he reminded her of those race car drivers who had swarms of fan girls.

"Hey…" the handsome race-car-fan-girl-chased looking guy waved a hand in front of her

Tifa wanted to slap herself. She thought probably looked stupid. No, actually, she did look stupid in front of them.

_Oh great. I bet they think I'm some sort of weird geek who has a mind that wanders blankly into nothingness_

That was the first time Tifa Lockheart cared about someone else's first impression on her.

She snapped out of her thoughts and finally replied "Oh, really? That wasn't brave really. I'm not brave. Just…independent I guess." Tifa gave an unsure smile; unsure, but cute smile.

"Well, whatever you say. It's still cool though, that you even had the guts to answer them back" The race-car-fan-girl-chased looking guy said again and this time, Tifa found herself blushing.

Tifa all of a sudden remembered why she was there in the first place. "Do you guys by any chance know where the main office is?" she asked with an instantaneous smile.

_Way to go Tifa, of course they know where, it's their school_

She wanted to slap herself again.

"Well, go up the 3rd floor and turn left in the first corner. You'll see a huge sign saying principal's office and that's it" The beautiful pink ball of sunshine said.

"Oh,wow...Thanks" Tifa made a little bow and walked pass them. As much as she wanted to stay, she couldn't; she was already a few minutes late for her appointment.

Tifa felt something tug her lips, she was glad that she met people like them. She felt no uneasiness whatsoever. Ermm..Okay she felt somewhat uneasy at first, but now she thinks she'll be comfortable with them.

"She's an interesting girl, ne , Zack?"

"Definitely"

"Yo!" a cool voice from behind caused the two to look back. The voice belonged to a blond teenager, who had bright blue eyes and his hair was spiked up in all directions, just like a chocobo's I might add.

"Who was that?" He asked as he looked at the raven haired girl who started making her way up the stairs.

"The hot new girl."

---------------------------------------------

Gwahaha...There was almost a CloTi scene right there, if only Cloud was a wee bit earlier. That was close…:p. Well, I promise there'd be more interaction in the next chapters. Oh and um…sorry for the lame school names. O.O . I think my creative juices are rotting. XD

I hope you guys liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. -hides under a rock-

I'll try to update soon.

Please review. Adding one drop of joy to my pool of happiness is one click away! XD

PS: Do you want Aerith/Aeris to be written as Aerith or Aeris?..XD


	3. Something Familiar

**Ch0knaT**: -hugs all the readers and reviewers- Wee! Thanks for reading and reviewing, now I'm all hyped up to update! You guys are of pure awesomeness…XD

Sooooo..what awaits us in this chappie? Will they meet? Will they not meet? Will one of them DIE?!

-Drum roll-..

You guys have to read to find out..:)

By the way, I'll write Aerith, it was a tie the last time I checked the reviews and now since I have to update, I had to decide by myself. Well, I went Aerith. I'm sorry if I ended up going with my own decision. ToT . I hope it's fine with everyone. :)

Please review. Criticisms are always welcome.

**Disclaimer: I wish Final Fantasy belongs to me**

Here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter III: Something Familiar**_

"_Yo!" a cool voice from behind caused the two to look back. The voice belonged to a blond teenager, who had bright blue eyes and his hair was spiked up in all directions, just like a chocobo's I might add. _

"_Who was that?"_

"_The hot new girl."_

The blond boy watched Tifa go up the stairs "So she's the one they're all talking about. Reno, Vincent and the other guys were talking about her. They were all scatterbrained about this hot new girl. Heh, they said she had a million dollar face and a body to die for. Some girls are already jealous" the blond gave a small snicker; he couldn't believe how much attention this girl is getting. After all, she's only been in the school for about an hour and seventeen minutes.

_Too bad I missed her. I wanted to see her. Let's see how hot this girl really is._

"Wow, that's a record. Just about an hour in and hot new girl's already making a scene" Zack scratched his left cheek. Usually, new kids don't get much attention, and if they do, it's usually because of a hell hole of denunciation. And some students, who have even stayed longer, years longer, than Tifa don't get as much notice.

"Zack dear, she has a name. And I believe "hot new girl" isn't it" the green eyed girl closed her eyes knowingly. She, judging from her first encounter, liked Tifa. She liked her very much indeed.

Zack was about to speak again but then… "Hey! You sorry midgets should get your sorry butts to your damn rooms, classes are about to start, and hell I'd whack your brains out if you people get late AGAIN" One blond teacher warned them in an infuriated voice and then walked straight ahead.

He seriously didn't look like a teacher. He held a cigarette and had a dirty unshaved face, but his I.D. proved otherwise. It had 'Cid Highwind – Faculty' written on it. I guess, one can never judge from looks. The hobo looking man was actually the greatest aviator and mechanic in all of Midgar.

Zack rolled his eyes, put his hands to his neck and pretended to be vomiting. He seems to hate that certain golden haired teacher.

"I hate that man"

Okay, so he did hate him.

You see, for the teachers and the party pooper grown ups, Zack Fair was this huge trouble maker. He has this problem-free fun-loving dare-devil soul, and he could afford having one, literally. He practically buys his way out of trouble. Whatever damage or whatever fees his misfits cause, he has the big bucks to pay. His family owns this motorcycle company, he gets whatever set of wheels he wants in just a flick of a finger. He's quite good in racing too, half the money he spends on the trouble he makes comes from the prizes he's won, so Tifa was kind of right, although he wasn't a race car driver, he was still a track champion who had plenty of raging fan girls whom squeal whenever he comes their way. The younger people, definitely contradicted the teachers' impressions. Everyone who had a sense of enjoyment liked Zack, his love for fun and spontaneity makes him the perfect man. And the perfect buddy.

"Come on Zack, it was your fault the chocobos ran lose, not his" The brown haired girl amiably said after laughing at Zack's antics.

"Yea.Whatever. Look, if it wasn't for his-" Zack was cut off. Again.

"Hey, as much as I want to hear your side of the story, I think Highwind's right, we should get our sorry butts going" the blond said after looking at his watch.

The three of them started walking to their room while Zack continued to explain his side.

Some students were sitting on the armchairs laughing. Some were chatting. Some were cramming with their assignments. Some were sleeping. Some eating. That was the sight that greeted the trio when they entered the room.

"Zack!" the group of boys who were sitting on the armchairs called him. They raised their hands up to call his attention. Zack, without delay went to join them.

The girl, on the other hand waved at the blond as if signaling 'catch you later'. She went to her seat which was in the front row. After sitting, she immediately opened her bag and started reviewing her homework. Another one of Tifa's impressions were right, she definitely had straight As.

After the wave, the blond started walking to his chair. He didn't feel like hanging with Zack and the other boys at the moment.

His desk was beside the window. He noticed that an empty new chair was beside his.

_So the hot new girl's going to be in our class…beside my chair…beside me. This is going to be fun…_

He was excited in meeting and in getting to sit beside this girl. He smirked, sat down, put his feet on top of the chair in front and looked outside the window. He normally did that, especially during their math class. This was his spot and this was what relaxed him.

His relaxation was slowly diminishing though. Why? Because all he heard was: hot new girl this…hot new girl that.

It was slowly becoming nauseating for him.

He leaned his head to his knuckles, looked at the 'armchair boys' and listened to their conversation.

"Hah! I already got to talk to her" Zack Fair was making all the other boys around his circle envy. He was telling them about her voice. He told them about how she stood up and defended herself from the punks. He told them every detail of his stumbling upon the hot new girl.

The blond rolled his eyes, puffed his cheek and attempted to look back in the window.

_They're exaggerating._

Irritation struck him. It's not that he didn't like this hot new girl. He just, didn't like how everyone's making such big fuzz. Hell they don't even know her yet. She could be a drug dealer slash hooker for all they care.Well, the bottom line is: He didn't like them giving her too much credit… Or is he just jealous?

It didn't take too long before a teacher came in. The class slowly began to settle down. Yes, slowly. Most of these kids were spoiled; they didn't like being told what to do, that's why simple things, even like getting them to sit down, was a hard task for teachers.

Don Corneo. Their seemingly ten-thousand pound soggy faced lame eyed trying-hard loser principal, had to stand in front for about 30 seconds before everyone settled. Well, almost settled, whispers and stifled laughers were still heard.

"Everyone, we have a new student"

A miracle happened: SILENCE.

Don Corneo put his hands to the door's direction and Tifa walked in. She was biting her lower lip while trying to smile. It was her smile of awkwardness. She was totally weirded out by their reaction. Everyone was looking at her.

_The hell? Do I have anything in my face of something?_

Some looked in awe. Some looked in jealousy. One in boredom: the kid with chocobo hair.

After scheming through the people in the room, her eyes finally laid on the girl she met earlier. She gave her a smile and Tifa gave a subtle wave. After that, she felt somewhat relieved. She was glad that her two new acquaintances were in the same class. That put her in the mood to give a real smile.

--

On the chocobo haired boy's side…

"Hey. She's the girl! That's the hot new girl. She's gorgeous man." The orange haired boy who was seated in front of him turned back and whispered "You think she'd date me?"

"That's it? That's the new hot girl?" the blond dully answered. Was he disappointed?

"What do you mean that's it?" His classmate asked. His classmate knew that he had gone through a lot of girls but still, he expected a better reaction from the blond.

The blond didn't answer. He just gave him an irritated look. The last thing he needed was someone disturbing him, he was trying to think; trying to remember.

It was an anticlimactic event for him. He didn't find her that stunning maybe because he was used to her face. For some reason her gorgeousness didn't surprise him. For him it seemed to be usual. No, it wasn't usual. It was more of familiar.Yea, familiar. He was positive; he had seen her face before, but where? Maybe in a mall. Maybe in a commercial. Maybe in one of his trips out of town. Maybe from the internet. Maybe from a newspaper. Maybe from a bar. Gah.

He couldn't recall where he had seen such face. He shrugged it off and listened as their principal introduced her; it wasn't important remembering anyway. What if the face was familiar? It's not like it's a big deal.

"This is Tifa Lockheart everyone. Seventeen years old. Daughter of Gabriel Lockheart." Tifa felt sick when the principal introduced her as Gabriel Lockheart's daughter. She wasn't his daughter. Well, atleast not in a conventional way.

"She transferred from Nibelheim Academy and is now going to study here. She used to be a part of the track team and is an honor student. She has a clean record, so you people better not try anything funny. Is that clear Mr. Zack Fair?" Don Corneo eyed the boy who Tifa temporarily declared as the race-car-fan-girl-chased looking guy.

"Yea" he answered and then winked at Tifa.The sickening feeling disappeared. Tifa silently laughed to herself. She could tell; Zack didn't have a perfect reputation with the teachers.

_Zack Fair. So that's his name._

After giving the short intro, their principal finally let them ask her some questions

One boy raised his hand.

"Yes Mr. Lionheart?" the principal addressed him

"Do you have a boyfriend?" For 2 seconds the classroom was filled with loud "oooohs!"

The hot new girl prevented herself from laughing. The pink ball of sunshine amusingly raised her eyebrows. The race-car-fan-girl-chased looking guy grinned. The chocobo boy rolled his eyes.

Tifa was about to answer but before she could speak a word, Corneo, Tifa's newly dubbed ass-hat, interrupted. He knew where this Q&A was heading. He didn't like it.

"If all your questions are of that manner, then Ms. Lockheart, you may now take a seat. There's a vacant one beside Mr. Strife. If you wish to make any change in the arrangements, please tell us"

"Yea, sure. Thank you." She started to walk, but then stopped "Oh and by the way. No, I do not have a boyfriend" she said with a smirk and started walking. The class reacted quite positively. Right then, they knew she was a fun girl. She was fun and interesting girl.

Her eyes went to her future seatmate. She felt something weird, something different, something familiar when she looked at him. Suddenly she couldn't breathe properly.

_Where did I see him before?_

Tifa shrugged the sensation off and went to her seat.

"Okay everyone, I have another announcement. I guess it's your lucky day." The fat man started "There seems to be a kid who injected too much mako to himself this morning. He tried to enhance his mental abilities, since he forgot to study for a test, and Ms. Elmyra was called for assistance. You have no classes in her subjects." Don Corneo announced, sighed and walked out of the door.

Rejoice!

Tifa turned to the blond and gave another smile "Tifa" She said as she put out one hand. There was something that drew her to him. For a moment there, his irritation ended, but before the blue eyed boy could speak and before they could touch each other's hand, Aerith and Zack approached.

Temporary liking. Over.

For some reason, his irritation came back.

"Welcome to class R-3 Tifa Lockheart" she shook her hand "I never had a chance to introduce myself ne? Aerith Gainsborough" she gave a small bow

"Hey hot new girl!" Zack, on the other hand, ruffled her hair.

Tifa smiled. She thought Zack was one of the sweetest men in the planet. "I'm to see people like you here… I met some goons along the way; oh how I prayed to God I'd be stuck with you guys"

"You're in better luck than that. We're supposed to be having 4 subjects today. One is homeroom, which is done already. The next is English then Literature, luckily, they're both taught by Ms. Elmyra. You'll like her by the way; she's the most respective out of all retarded teachers here." Aerith let out a small laugh "After English is Chemistry, Hojo will teach that, he's a nutcase so you better prepare yourself" Aerith warned her.

Zack nodded "Yea, his a nutcase, a bastard and a harbinger of bad news all at the same time"

"Ooh, I see." Tifa said. Her eyes shifted to the blond.

Caught.

"He's Cloud Strife" Aerith said, she knew what was on Tifa mind. At that time Cloud was cross armed and was blandly looking out the window, but he moved his eyeballs to look at them.

"Cloud, looks like Tifa has the hots for you" Zack was chuckling loudly

Tifa gave Zack a deadly gaze

"Ooookay, I was just kidding!"

Tifa directed her attention to Cloud again "It's just that you look familiar Cloud" she stated.

_So we've both seen each other before._

_--_

**Ch0knaT: **Well, so much for that chappie..I hope you guys liked the chapter, I tried hard to make it better, but it seems like the story is going too slow.XD. I think it has a lot of errors too, sorry for the inconvinience..ToT..Just tell me if you spot any, I shall repair it quickly..;)

ZOMG was it some ZackxTifa over there? Hoe noes!

Haha..well, Cloud and Tifa finally saw eachother ne?..:)

Thanks again for the reviews and hits…Until my next update!

-hands out cookies-

- gets a pen and notebook and hides under a rock-


	4. 3 Strikes

**Ch0knaT: **Whaa! O goodness, I'm very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very sorry for the late update. I told that I'd update soon, but I was late! –slaps myself-. Sorry..ToT. I hope you guys still continue reading.

Well, anyway, thanks for the wonderful reviews, I love you all. Again, I'm very sorry, it's just that I've been busy and all.

Mmmm..I really found this chappie hard to write, and up to now I'm not yet satisfied, I can't find why though. Just tell me your suggestions if you have any..:)

Please review, criticisms are always welcome.

Here goes…

-----

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter IV: 3 Strikes**_

As the class hours started going by, the big fuzz people were making about Tifa was slowly growing smaller. It was a good thing I guess; at least now she didn't have to worry about people watching her all the time. However, eventhough the seemingly endless chats about her were disappearing, her admirers still remained loyal.

Tifa, Zack and Aerith spent most of their free class hours chatting. Zack and Aerith ran her through the whole structure of the school and gave her short cuts. Through the course of the years, Zack, with his innate love for trouble, had discovered several different passages in the school. This amused Tifa. Now, she was sure that they were going to make good companions.

The two were really helping her in living in her so called "God forsaken" school life. Almost everything else but the two was making her feel awful. It seemed that almost every person was either arrogant or bitchy or self centered or spoiled.

It's not her fault for getting bad impressions though. After all who would get good impressions if, for the first two periods, the men were all hitting on you and the other girls were giving you incriminating glares. Zack and Aerith were probably the only two persons she was fond of, she wasn't sure if she liked one more though.

_Cloud Strife._

Cloud was always close to them. Tifa figured he was a part of Zack and Aerith's "group". He never really talked though. Actually, he acted sort of snobbish. The hot new girl didn't like it at all. She was getting an inkling that he was like the rest of those arrogant bastards. She has given an attempt or two to talk to the certain blond. No replies.

Cloud's irritation seems to be becoming mutual now.

-

It turns out that almost all of the raven haired girl's ideas about her acquaintances were correct. Aerith was the 4th in their class. She was the President of the School Government. Tifa also learned that the radiant green eyed girl was a 'talked about girl', just as she thought. She knew since she heard a few people mention her name as they walked by. Her mother writes stage plays abroad while her father, a Cetra, works as a doctor, specifically a surgeon in the, MMC, otherwise known as the Midgar Medical Center. Tifa was astounded when she learned that Aerith could heal and summon. She had mad skills.

Zack? Well, Zack was Zack, but Tifa realized, there was more to him than simply being an ecstatic kidder. Beneath this friendly exterior was a very devious man. He had been suspended two times, for reasons Tifa has yet to learn. The school couldn't get rid of him though. His parents have done one too many favors for the institution. Plus he's got talent, despite the fact that he never really studies, his practical exam abilities were exceptional. Tifa had never really seen him in action, but his reputation seems to be true. She wondered why he didn't go off to SOLDIER, but again, there are reasons Tifa has yet to learn.

As I've said, Tifa also figured that they weren't a _duo_. Cloud Strife completed their previously group of three; _previously_, because now, I think it's safe to say, they are a group of four. Cloud was really silent. He had the same cool breezy vibes as Zack but Zack was definitely more approachable than him.

---

The four of them were seated back in the classroom. Tifa, Zack and Aerith were in the middle seats talking, while Cloud still remained in his spot, still looking out the window.

"He seems to be off today" Aerith said, since she caught the new girl looking at the window peering spike-head again.

_Damn. How many times have I been caught?_

Zack seemed a bit bothered by his actions. The two of them have been best friends since Cloud stepped on the grounds of Midgar, he knew Cloud's frolics. He leaped out of his chair "Hey, you two catch up, I'll just check on my buddy there" those were his last words before left and walked towards the blond.

The two girls watched as Zack approached Cloud and ruffled his hair.

"WHAT THE-?" Tifa and Aerith heard an aggravated Cloud as he elbowed Zack. Zack on the other hand used his free fist to hit Cloud's face. The blue eyed blond swiftly blocked his clenched fist. Cloud immediately got off the chair and the two continued sparring. They were sort of like two elementary kids fighting, only with more complex moves.

"Are they going to be alright?" They're cool karate chop actions slighlty amused Tifa but worry was certainly found in her voice. She'd never seen anyone do those things.

Wham! Cloud fell on one of the chairs, but he got up and immediately attempted punching Zack's face off.

"Of course they'll be alright; those two, well, let's say that that's their way of dealing with eachother" The Cetra looked at Tifa and Tifa continued watching the two boys, they seem to be enjoying now. Aerith was right. This was their way of dealing with eachother.

Boom! Zack crashed slightly to the wall.

"You know, I love those two" Aerith started. "I've known Zack even before Cloud. We've been really tight. He left though, for a few months, and then there, he had Cloud with him when he came back" She looked at Tifa and smiled again. The raven haired girl envied her, she remembered her own childhood friend but she soon rubbed the thought out of her head, she didn't want to remember Chocobo-kun right now.

Wapack! Cloud took his first hit in the face.

Aerith continued "You should've seen Cloud when we were younger, he was a wreck. He's probably the youngest heartbroken man I've ever seen" Tifa just laughed. "But Zack never quitted on him, and slowly… really slowly, he started smiling again; the Cloud underneath that rough shell finally came out"

Tifa's frustration over Strife slowly boiled down as Aerith told her more about him. She was feeling the same thing Cloud felt a while ago when they were about to shake hands.

"Wow. You three have been though a lot huh?" Tifa shrugged off the warm feeling and spoke to Aerith.

"Kind of." Aerith giggled "God, I'm being so sappy"

"Nah, it's forgivable" Tifa smiled at her.

"Aren't you guys hungry yet?" The two girls jumped as they heard a voice behind. It was Zack who was rubbing his stomach. It surprised Tifa, she and Aerith just went off guard in watching them for about 45 seconds, and now the two boys seem to be normal. As if nothing happened.

"The cafeteria's going to be crowded soon" It was Cloud, he stood beside Zack. This was the first time Tifa heard him civilly talking to them. Aerith nodded and stood up, the hot new girl shortly followed.

Aerith and Zack were walking together in front while Cloud and Tifa followed behind closely.

"So, is the cafeteria food here like garbage? Or is it actually good?" Tifa broke the silence she wanted to see how he talks in a conversation. Based on Aerith's stories, he was a hell of a fun guy.

Cloud looked at her. He turned back. No answer.

"Cloud?" she attempted talking to him again, maybe he just didn't hear the first time.

Tifa's frustration meter is going back up again.

…

He looked at her again. Turned back. No answer.

_Goddamit if he's not talking. Then fine. I can live without him._

Tifa's fuse broke. Strife was being a jerk. The irritation is definitely becoming mutual.

Cloud noticed how her patience ran out so quickly. He smirked at her actions, it's not that he's a sadistic man who loved seeing people suffer or anything but he simply thought that she looked so…amusing that way.

The four of them finally reached the dining hall; some students were almost finished, while some had just begun. It wasn't too crowded though. Good thing. I don't think Tifa's eyes would be prepared in seeing a hall full of spoiled ass-hats just yet.

Tifa looked at how huge and elegant the place was. It wasn't your typical canteen. The food, unlike in other schools, wasn't lard and Monosodium Glutamate filled. The food definitely wasn't like garbage.

There were different sizes of light blue tables which matched the overall color theme of the cafeteria. Aerith found one for them, sat down and reserved it. She didn't have to go line up since Zack promised to get her her food.

Tifa got herself a salad. Zack got two burgers for himself and one tuna sandwich for Aerith while Cloud a chicken one. The three of them walked back to the table.

Zack swears, he saw lightning bolts across Cloud and Tifa's eyes whenever they looked at eachother. It didn't bother him though, he was rather entertained.

During lunch, although Cloud and Tifa had a little interaction, the tension was still there. Aerith too could've sworn she saw tiny lightning bolts across their orbs when they looked eye to eye.

After eating, Zack, Cloud and Tifa went to the Chemistry lab. Aerith on the other hand promised to just catch up since she had to drop by the School Government office to submit her activity proposals.

The walk to the Chemistry lab was somewhat silent. I guess, Zack ran out of things to say and neither Cloud nor Tifa spoke.

They finally arrived at the room. It had six rows of lab tables, there were six seats per row and each space allotted for one student had all the things they needed. A telescope. Test tubes. Cylinders. Syringes. It were all there. Each slot had a name pasted on it; this was to guide the students to where they were supposed to sit. It was also their guide to their lab partners.

Holy Mother of Holy Stuff! By some phenomenal force of nature or divine intervention, the names "Strife" and "Lockheart" were beside eachother. _Strike one._

GOD.

Zack burst out laughing. It was hilarious. He held his tummy and took his time laughing while Cloud and Tifa stood watching him, both looked revolted by his action.

"Hey Cloud, you have to have the same opinion as me with this one…we should kill Zack" The annoyed Tifa said while looking at their teary eyes hedgehog headed classmate.

"Agreed. I hold.You punch." Cloud smirked and started to walk towards him but the laughing student quickly regained his composure, put his hand forward to stop him and he pointed the crowd of students coming in.

"We'll get him next time Lockheart" Cloud whispered to Tifa as they went to sit.

_Well, at least they agreed on something._

The horde of students slowly filled up the room. Aerith was seated in the first row, about 5 seats away from Cloud and Tifa while Zack was on the last.

The room became noisy. Paper of all kinds flew up. Paper balls, paper planes, you name it. Tifa and Cloud kept silent though. Tifa played around with the object in her desks while Cloud stood silently with his arms crossed, he simply watched Tifa's actions.

_How in heaven and hell put together did I end up with her?_

A few more minutes passed and Hojo came in.

Yup, definitely a nutcase, Tifa thought. He looked like Einstein's evil twin, only dumber. For the next two hours Hojo discussed the Lewis structure and everyone ended up drawing, sleeping or daydreaming. Hell, he was boring…boring and pervie. He had all these green jokes along the way. He seemed to be trying to entertain his students.

Wrong move.

Everybody ended up getting grossed out. This caused more students to not pay attention.

Finally, after two painstaking hours of Hojo Hell, the class was about to be dismissed.

"Okay class, good bye, sees you tomorrow." He signaled them to go. Everyone stood up lazily and went out the door.

Tifa got her things and hopped off from her chair. Cloud on the other hand was already waiting for them by the door.

"Strife. Lockheart." both of their hearts skipped a beat; they were surprised with Hojo's sudden call. "According to my record, you two are scheduled to clean today"

"What the hell?" Cloud said out loud irritatingly

"Mr. Strife, all I'm requiring you to do is to clean the room, disassemble these models, put them in a box and place them above the cabinet" After saying what he had to, the professor walked out of the room, murmuring all sorts of complains against Cloud Strife.

The lab partners faces went sour. It seemed like Tifa's luck was disappearing. Nothing but misfortune is coming to her.

_First being lab partners with Strife. Now this._

_Strike 2._

Zack once again laughed. These two are better than the comics down at the bar. "Well, see you two when you're done" he waved and took off. Aerith couldn't help but give a little giggle as she followed Zack out of the room, she thought Cloud and Tifa's reactions were priceless.

Cloud was about to follow them but he was stopped by Tifa's voice. "What do you think your doing?" The blond turned around to face a serious looking Tifa who had her arms crossed.

"Leaving." He said plainly as he walked towards the door.

Aerith seems to be wrong, what she described as Cloud wasn't the man Tifa was getting to know. The hot new girl's mind was getting made up: he was arrogant like the rest of them.

"Sheesh. Can you get anymore incompetent?" Cloud stopped walking as he heard what Tifa murmured.

No one. No one calls Cloud Strife incompetent.

The blond took a few steps back "If I stay and clean, will you shut the fuck up?"

Tifa was taken aback by his words, but she wasn't going to lose. She gave him a glare. "Get the models and put them in a box." She said then proceeded to a cabinet to get the cleaning materials.

Cloud hastily went to Hojo's desk, got the model and roughly shoved it in the box. He was irritated, he hated cleaning up. He hated being ordered around.

"Cloud? What are you doing" Tifa followed him as he climbed up the ladder that leaned on one of the cabinets. Strife wanted to finish this job quickly. "Cloud! We still have to put them properly in the box!" She was shaking the whole ladder.

"Hell I'm not doing that!" _I'm not cleaning up, can't she put it in her head?_

"Then I will!" _If he's not cleaning up, then I'll do it. Shit, he's a jerk._

"Well, I'm not waiting for you to finish either" Cloud was about to place the box on top but Tifa grabbed his foot. He lost his balance and fell. The box as well went with him. So did the cylinders in the cabinet. So did the models and the plastic bottles.

_**-THUMP-**_

Cloud tried to block the falling objects from Tifa, so it was his back that got all the hits. Plus, he ended up being on top of Tifa.

Double kill.

_Not a jerk after all?_

Cloud tried to protect her, but Tifa's frustration caused her to suppress whatever appreciation she felt.

Now both of their annoyance meters were going sky high. The two started barking at each other, not even minding their position. I bet they didn't even notice it.

"SHIT-HEAD! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" Cloud said, he made his face nearer to hers

"SHIT-HEAD? WHY AM I THE SHITHEAD?! YOU WERE THE DUMBASS WHO COULDN'T PUT THE MODELS BACK PROPERLY!" She barked back, making the distance even closer. Now, they could feel eachother's breaths

"THEN YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME! NOT PULL MY LEG AND SHAKE THE LADDER!"

"I WAS TELLING YOU! BUT YOU WERE TOO STUBBORN!"

"THEN SHOUT OR CURSE OR WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT, BUT DON'T SHAKE THE LADDER! DAMN IT! WHAT IF THOSE THINGS FELL ON YOU AND YOU GOT HURT?! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO AFTER?!"

"WHY THE HELL DO YOU CARE STRIFE?" Tifa was blushing with frustration

"OF COURSE I CARE. DAMMIT! IF I DIDN'T I WOULDN'T BE ON TOP OF YOU RIGHT NOW!"

She didn't answer back. They just stayed there. They could feel their bodies pressed to eachother. They could feel their breaths. They could feel they're hearts beating fast as hell.

Footsteps came. It was Zack, he probably wanted to check on them "Hey Cloud-" Zack froze

3

2

1

He bursted out laughing.

It was more hysterical than when he saw Cloud and Tifa's name beside eachother and when they were called to clean altogether. This time he couldn't contain the tears.

Cloud and Tifa got up in a blink of an eye; both of them were dusting the imaginary filth off their uniforms without saying a word.

They continued dusting it off until Zack stopped laughing, which took approximately two minutes. Zack wiped a tear of his eye "Man, strike 3, you two are hilarious…well, I just came by to tell you that me and Aerith will be waiting at the school coffee shop" he turned back and gave a little wave. He still gave occasional chuckles as he walked.

The two just stood there.

Just stood.

Just stood.

Just stood.

"Let's get things cleaned up" Cloud broke the silence. His voice still sounded mad though, but miraculously, he changed his mind about cleaning.

The two of them started picking up the fallen equipment and they started washing.

There were two sinks which were beside eachother. Tifa was on the left, Cloud on the right. Tifa got the cylinders and bottles and soaped them. It was Cloud who rinsed and dried. Both of them were doing it vigorously since frustration still hasn't left their systems, and no one talked. Silence. You can only hear the running water, the scrubbing and the occasional clanking of the glasses.

Get the cylinder. Wash. Soap. Pass. Rinse. Wipe. That was the pattern they followed.

Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart. They don't want to hurt eachother. They don't want to be mad at eachother. They don't hate eachother. They simply just don't get along.

Maybe there are just some people who can't be put in a mix.

..at least…not immediately.

-----

**Ch0knaT: **I hope you guys enjoyed this chappie, I put extra effort in this one. XDDDD

Thanks again for the reviews and I'm sorry for the late update, I'll try to update sooner this time. Sorry again for my incompetent-ness.

Please, review it's one of the few things you can get to do for free in our world. ,

I laaaaabbbb yooouuu alllll..'til next time. –Hands out cookies-


	5. Newspapers, Swords and Meetings

**Ch0knaT: **Sorry again. Gaaah. There was just so much school work. I'm stressed. -stabs self-. Haha.

Thanks for all the hits and reviews. I lab all of you. :)

I hope you guys liked the last chapter. ;) And I hope you'll like this one, I enjoyed it and I stayed up all night to do it. XD

Okay. Here goes.

PS: I re-editted it. Damn. The earlier version of this chapter was full of errors, forgive me. I corrected everything I found, but I might've missed some things though. Gomen. Sorry for the carelessness. Shame on me.

---------

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter V: Newspapers, Swords and Meetings**_

"Cloud. Wake up Cloud. Cloud…" The woozy Cloud Strife heard someone knocking on the door.

He wearily opened his eyelids and scanned the white ceiling above him. He didn't get up, he just laid down. "Yea, I'm up." He said making sure the person outside his room heard him. Then he heard footsteps fading which meant that the person was walking away from his door. He stayed lying in his bed for a few more minutes, still looking up the ceiling. He didn't want to get up yet. It was Friday, the last day of school week.

_Damn. I don't want to go to that hell hole._

The sizzling noises of food getting fried in the stove started, his breakfast was being cooked already. Upon hearing those noises, the blond threw his blue comforters aside and sat up, revealing his bare, well toned upper body. His hair was messier than usual; there were more directions to where his spikes were pointing. His bright blue eyes were watery, probably because from all that sleep.

While sitting up he took some time looking out the huge window which was about five feet away from his bed. The blue curtains were put aside so that the view of the city could be seen clearly through the huge glass screen. The sight looked amazing. His room was high; you could actually watch the whole Sector from there. Anyone who'd see it for the first time would be astonished; Cloud Strife however can never be more used to it.

He glanced at the digital clock on the desk beside his bed.

6.30

He got off the bed, went to his closet, got his clothes and proceeded to his bathroom.

6.45

He came out with only a red towel on his waist and some drops of water were still trickling down his body and his phenomenally still spiked up hair.

6.55

He was already through changing. He wore black pants and white polo on. A dark blue tie was also there too and of course,a dark blue sweater type vest, his uniform wouldn't be complete without it. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbow. Only geeks wear their sleeves down. He took his bag, took a quick glimpse of himself in front of his body mirror and took himself out of his room

Cloud's place was quite different from Tifa's; he lived in a condominium, all by himself, I might add. It was about five minutes away from their school. It was spacey, fairly larger than most of the other condo units. There were more gigantic windows on the walls and the different sides of them, the walls i mean, were colored blue, red or white. His unit looked like one of those that were provided by rich agencies to their hosted bands. All the perks were there too, plasma TV, game platforms, nice audio systems, you name it, they were all present. But something was weird about it: It was unbelievably clean. And let's not forget, as proven by Tifa's experience, Cloud _hates_ cleaning.

The neatness was all possible because of Lilen, Cloud's trusted stay out maid. Her hair which reached her shoulders was red,she had huge round orange eyes and had a sweet smile. She was probably about 23 years old, but I think she's too small for her age. Lilen does all. Cooking, cleaning, washing the clothes, she does it. She comes in just before her master wakes up, and leaves just before he comes back from school. That made Cloud live _THE _life. No chores. No rules.

The blond lazily made his way to the kitchen slash mini dining room. The food was there already, he was going to eat Lilen's special omelet and French toast this morning.

"Master Cloud, your mother has a message waiting for you in the phone." The maid stopped what she was doing and gave him the wireless device. He pressed the red button on the phone and heard his mother's voice.

_Cloud darling, I read the newspapers the other day, and I know that you have learned your lesson from before, but I do hope you and that Zack have nothing to do with whatever events are written there. It's got me quite worried, and you know your father is going to be enraged once he knows you've done any more funny business. Keep out of trouble Cloud. Please. I trust you there, don't disapoint you fathe and I._

Cloud smirked.

_And please be a dear and find something appropriate to wear for tomorrow. Your father and I are coming there for a meeting, and we would like you to come with us, okay? We'll meet you in Ristretto tomorrow morning; we'll be having lunch, come there at about 10.30 am. See you Cloud. You better be there._

_End of message_

The blond rolled his eyes, gave the phone back to Lilen, looked at the newspaper lying on the table and ate his breakfast.

7.05

He was all set to leave.

"Lilen, prepare me clothes for tomorrow, you have taste. I trust you." Cloud commanded just before he stepped out of the door.

---

Before Cloud went to school, he took a detour and it trip a 30 minute walk instead of 5. He passed and went through several small streets and alleys and made his way to a somewhat grubby place. It wasn't like the Midgar everybody knew. It still looked like the unhindered Midgar. The Midgar everyone was trying to forget.

But Cloud seems to remember everything vividly. He knew the right paths, the right turns. Everything.

Cloud took a few more turns until he came across a seemingly abandoned shop. It was an old place, the pieces of metal stands were rusting, the paint was wearing off, smudges of dirt were present, graffiti were decorating the walls and some parts of the window glasses were broken.

Cloud went in the door. Cait Sith was there he was polishing some of the armor in the shelves.

Swords of different kinds were there, shurikens too, so as guns, materia, and potions. Everything a warrior needed could be found in that humble store.

I don't exactly know why the spiky head was there though.

"Yo Cloud!" He heard Cait Sith, he just made a tiny wave and proceeded to the counter.

"Reeve, how's my baby?" Cloud inquired.

"Well, what can I say? Your weapon is, yet again, another beauty." Reeve answered with a sly smile.

Cloud has big bits of eccentricity in him you see, he likes things his way. Everything has to be according to his liking and style, even his weapons.

"Do you wanna see it Spike? It's almost done."

"I'll pass, I still have classes" He said as he peeped towards the opened back door where they brandish the weapons.

"Sure, it'll be ready by late in the afternoon, ya can come by and fetch it anytime" The blond simply nodded. With that, Cloud made his way out of the shop.

---

7.45

Cloud was already in front of the school gates.

Classes started at 8.30, so by the time he got there, the bulk of students was still invisible. He walked his way through the gates with his left hand inside his left pocket while his other hand held a newspaper. He strode directly to their room.

Cloud entered the room with eyes on the tiled black and white floor, and when he looked up, to his surprise, Zack was already there. His head was in the arm of the chair.

Still sleeping?

Cloud threw to him the newspaper he had in his hand. His companion immediately sat up

"Son of a bitch!"

Zack was irritated by the newspaper-throwing escapade. The blond however just gave a small chuckle but stopped as he saw his friend's facial expression suddenly change at the sight of what was written in the paper.

"Psh" Zack tossed it to the trash can behind the seats

"What do you think Zack?" The blue eyed seriously asked.

"What do you mean 'what do you think'. It's all bull Cloud, and you know it" Zack put his arms to the back of his neck.

"ShinRa doesn't seem to think so"

"Hn. Hey do you think it's fine with Tifa if she came with us once? I mean sh-" Zack was cut off by a frustrated Cloud.

"What the hell do you want to happen? It's already dangerous having her come with us here in school" The blond slammed his hand down Zack's arm chair in objection

"What about Aerith then? She still hangs"

"She's different."

"So you care that much about _her_ Strife?" Zack leaned towards him, looked at his eyes inquisitively and raised his eyebrow

"Don't mess with me Zack. I don't give a damn about her; it's just that I don't want any of the commotion. It's a waste of energy if something else happens. The last thing we need" he responded with an irritated tone.

I now dub Cloud Strife a liar.

"Yea right" Zack closed his eyes and leaned back to his chair.

The two continued debating hotly. What was all this fuss about anyway? What was dangerous? What was on the newspaper?

Meanwhile, Tifa Lockheart was already making her way down the car. She made the same path Cloud did a while ago. There were also still a few students present. What a lazy day. Well, atleast Tifa's first week in this pit of misery is going to end today.

Her calm walk to the room came to a halt as she heard familiar voices : _Zack and Cloud's_

It sounded like a heated conversation. Tifa knew that if she came in bluntly, the two would stop talking, so she paused carefully right before the door, trying her best not to get noticed by the two.

"Don't drag Tifa into this Zack!" Cloud was protesting. Tifa's eyebrows got closer together. She was puzzled.

_What is he ranting about me now?_

_Concentrate on the conversation_

"Look, I think she's cool, and her family's a big asset Cloud" Zack said seriously. Tifa had never seen him like this before.

The two suddenly kept silent. Both of their eyes drifted to the door. They sensed her presence. Damn, these guys are good.

_Shit, caught._

"We'll talk about this again." Cloud looked back to Zack, breaking the silence. The blonde made his way out the door and just as he stepped out, he fixed an irritated glare at Tifa and stuck his tongue out. Tifa didn't refrain: she stuck her tongue out too. Cloud gave one last glare and paced out. The raven-haired girl's gaze followed his walking-away figure, when he turned around the curve she stopped looking, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and walked to the room.

Yea, they still weren't getting along that well. It's been like that for the whole week.

"Oh hey Tifa" Zack said with his usual smile while scratching the back of his head

Tifa made her way to her seat. "What was that about?"

"Nothing nothing. You know how Cloud is with you ne?" Tifa shrugged

"Have you heard what happened to the mako reactors down at sector 3?" The girl suddenly changed the subject. Cloud Strife was the least she wanted to talk, hear or think about.

"Hm?" Zack haphazardly replied. He didn't care.

"You know, AVALANCHE and all that" Tifa was trying to ring a bell, but before Zack could answer, a certain green eyed girl went in the door. Aerith.

Zack and Tifa looked at her as she entered "What's with Cloud? I saw him tramp down the halls, when I asked him what was wrong, he simply said 'Lockheart'" Aerith raised her eyebrows and let out an uncertain smile. She was always a wee bit amused at the two who seem to be at war. It was cute. I mean, they can stand each other, they interact and they are capable of getting along but there are simply some times where they seem to want to throw eachother of a building with a nail attached to the eye.

Tifa rolled her eyes. Why was she always the problem? She looked out the window, she saw Cloud making his way to the science building.

_Where the hell is he going?_

---

8.35.

Their first class was already starting. Tifa looked at the chair beside her.

Still empty.

The raven haired girl just shook her head and tried to focus her attention to the teacher.

_Why am I thinking about him anyway? Let him do what he wants…It's not like I care._

_---_

Cloud sat cross armed while leaning on the rails of the roof top of the science building. He didn't feel like going to his classes. It was Friday for God sake. And beside, he was still kind of pissed.

_Tifa of all the people. We've only known her for a week. How'd she win Zack's trust that fast._

The blond just took a deep breath and rested his head, there, he stayed up to lunch break.

_I've been thinking about Tifa too much these past few days. Damn, that girl's getting to my nerves. I can't do anything focused anymore. She's too much trouble, she juat had to add more problems._

Cloud was getting infuriated again. For the past week, everything he did concerned Tifa, whether it was doing homework or fighting in PE, it just had something to do with her. And now Zack's even proposing something that screams out more Tifa.

----

Cloud made it to their chemistry class. It was his biggest mistake of the day; Hojo's idiocy ran wild again he made them answer an exercise with their partners. He had to work with Tifa. Of course, exchanges of cusses and arguments were heard between our favorite lab partners, but they made it through.

Good thing God was kind and the bell finally rang already.

School was over.

The four of them made their way out of the gates. "Hey, wanna go out tomorrow? They're opening this new pizza place, freebies always come in the opening" Zack was walking backwards since he was talking to three people who were behind him.

"I'll pass. My parents want me to go with them to some fucktarded meeting" Cloud said. He hated the parent-business time. They keep forcing him into something he wasn't interested in. Why can't his parents just take him to a sword fight competition or something?

"I can go" Tifa said, this was going to be her first time to roam around Midgar in five years she was more than eager to go around. Plus, she's already rotting at home; she needs to breathe new air.

"Ditto" Aerith agreed, she had nothing better to do ne?

Poor Spike, he's the only one who couldn't go.

---- ---- ----

_Riiing_

Tifa heard her alarm clock ring, it was Saturday morning. She got up and stretched her arms.

_Aaah…A Spike free day._

Smiling, she got her things out of her closet and took her bath. It was relaxing, no school, no Cloud. Only pure fun out in Midgar. She's been waiting for this day since she first laid her foot in this city.

Tifa came out of her room with a purple halter and a black pleated skirt which went about two inches above her knees. She wore purple matching flip-flops and of course, she had her mother's earrings.

The brown eyed teenager was humming as she made her way down the stairs but as she strode down, she heard the last voice she wanted to hear for today. Her father's.

"Tifa, get dressed we're leaving in about an hour" Her father ordered strictly

Tifa's jaws fell "Where?"

"I have this meeting, and I want you to come with me, Rufus is coming too. It's good to expose you in these things. Hurry now"

Jaws still hanging.

_Damn._

"But I'm going somewhere _father" _She said 'father' in the most sarcastic tone. Her fumes were boiling again

"Well then, cancel it. Get dressed now."

Tifa wanted to say more, but she'd rather save her effort, this was going nowhere again. Her father's an ass-hat control freak.

Once she was up in her room, Tifa resignedly got her phone and dialed Zack's number.

"Zack"

"Yea? Aerith and I are on our way" Tifa could hear the noise from whatever they were riding. It sounded like they were riding a motorcycle.

"Uhm. About that, my dad's taking me somewhere, sorry.." Tifa bit her lip. She really really really wanted to come

"Well okay then." Zack closed the line.

_So much for my fun day. _

As soon as Tifa put her cell phone down, a maid entered and brought in a black dress and a pair of black high heel shoes. Tifa rolled her eyes and slipped them on.

Tifa put her hair up in a high pony and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked gorgeous. The black dress was up to her knees and it fitted her beautifully it had no sleeves too. If the boys at her school saw this, she'd be toppled over in seconds. She looked at herself for some more time, but when she heard the car's beep, she immediately stormed out of her room.

The car ride was like a contest of silence once more. No one talked. Tifa yet again, just spent her time looking out the window and scanning the sights of Midgar they passed by.

It took about 30 minutes for the auto to halt in front of a big fancy restaurant. Everyone who was going in was wearing expensive formal clothes. Tifa sighed; once again, these arrogant rich people were getting into her nerves.

Tifa followed Rufus and her father as they entered. You could smell the aroma of gourmet meals and they had good interior designs. There were beautiful center pieces and flowers were found everywhere. The waiters were wearing white long sleeve polos; Tifa couldn't help but laugh at their uniform since it resembled to their boys'.

The Lockheart family made their way to a VIP room. Something immediately caught Tifa's attention. Her eyes widened and she stared with her mouth hanging open.

"You have got to be kidding me"

---

**Ch0knaT: **Gaah. I'm very sorry again. I didn't get to update sooner. We had out exams. 234659692 times sorry. –Gives out sorry cookies-

Mmmm..well, I hope you guys liked the Cloud fan-girl moment there. Haha. I thought a fresh from the shower Cloudy-boy would be hot –squee-

Sooooooo…there, I've opened up a lot of questions in this chappie.

What are Cloud and Zack up to? What where they debating about?

Why does Cloud buy weapons?

Why is his mother worried? Why would his father be enraged?

What was in the paper? Are the connected to the mako reactors?

Plus. What caught Tifa's attention?

-drum rolls-

la did a di da

Well, you guys have to watch out. I'll really try to update soon.

Super thanks for the reviews. –glomps all of you-

PS: I believe there are some grammatical errors there. Sorry. I was very sleepy ,just tell me. And i'll fix it.


	6. Hell freezes over

**SORRY! I uploaded this document for the 7th chappie again, my mistake, i tried to edit chappie 6 but i ended up posting this in the chapter 7 slot. Gah. Sorry, i shall delete that one. T.T Sorry for the false alarm. **

**Ch0knaT: **Hello! Oh, thanks so much for the wonderful reviews. I love all of you. :)

Mmm…I like this chappie, it's a happy one, and it's one of my favorites so far. I hope you guys will like it too! -runs around-

There might be some typos and errors here. Forgive me please. -puppy dog eyes-

Reviews are always welcome and so are criticisms, please do click that button. :p

Okay, here goes.

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter VI: Hell freezes over**_

"_You have got to be kidding me"_

Tifa's jaws hung open as her eyes focused on the young man who sat lazily in one of the chairs with earphones on. He was wearing a dark green, almost black, zip up shirt. His pants were loose and it had all sorts of buttons, chains and well designed stitches in it; his boots were almost not appropriate for the occasion. His golden hair spiked out in all directions, just like a chocobo's I might add.

Who else could it be but Cloud Strife.

Tifa just stood there, unable to utter a word.

Surprised.

That was the only word that could describe her present state. She froze, staring at the bored blond seated about six feet away from her.

Finally, Tifa's gaze was returned, it didn't take too long for Cloud to fix his,also wide, eyes on hers.

"Holy Shit" he couldn't help whispering to himself. He thought the day couldn't get more notable.

Well, it just did.

"Cloud, come here and meet the Lockhearts" the blond heard his mother call him. His mom was beautiful, she looked really kind. She wasn't blond though, she had brown hair which reached just right before her shoulder. Her eyes weren't blue either, they were brown, hmm, maybe a little lighter than Tifa's. She wore a cream colored dress. Props to her for being able to carry such clothes in such age.

Cloud's father doesn't exactly look like him either. Although he was blond, his hair didn't spike up, it was pulled back. It made him look kind of older than he really is if you ask me. He was a little bit taller than his son, and his eyes were green, not blue, they looked fine, not as beautiful as Cloud's though.

Cloud obediently "unplugged" his earphones from his ear and stood up. Now the two families were facing each other. Mr. Lockheart was facing Mr. Strife, Rufus was facing Mrs. Strife and Cloud and Tifa were facing each other.

Cloud's eyes were no longer wide eyed because of surprise. Now he was overwhelmed at what the young lady looked like, his heart was unbelievably moving at an unnaturally fast pace. She is truly a hot girl.

Completely beautiful.

They've never seen each other out of school before, this would be the first time Cloud could see her in more flattering clothes. For a moment there, he considered her as girlfriend material.

Tifa on the other hand, noticed spiky head looking at her in a very peculiar way, but she didn't do anything about it. She actually enjoyed it.

This was very different from their normal routine of squabbling or glaring at eachother.

There must have been a snow blizzard in hell. Are they actually liking each other?

…

…

…

…

Okay, trance over. Mr. Lockheart started the conversation. "Good afternoon, good to see you again Mr. Strife, Mrs. Strife, Cloud" Hn. It was obvious that his voice of kindness wasn't genuine.

Tifa rolled her eyes once more. These people would do anything for power, money, self-importance; even if it meant lying or being a hypocrite.

"It's nice to see you too, Mr. Lockheart. I believe this lovely lady is your daughter?" Mr. Strife lifted his hand to the raven haired girl's direction. She smiled back, but still, she didn't like being referred to as Mr. Lockheart's daughter.

"Yes, this is indeed my lovely daughter Tifa; she just got home about a week ago"

_Lovely daughter._

"Oh, I see, don't you think she's quite charming Cloud?" the blonde's mother interjected "You should ask her out some time" She gently elbowed Cloud's arm.

_What's this, a meeting for arranged marriage?_

Cloud gave a crooked smile "Maybe I will" Tifa, gave him a death glare. She perfectly knew he was being sarcastic and it couldn't irritate her more.

"Why don't we take our seats?" Cloud's father suggested and everyone began moving to their chairs.

Tifa was about to go sit down, but as she passed Cloud; she felt his hands around her arm from behind. "You're his daughter?" he whispered on to her ear

"Well, I am a Lockheart aren't I?" she said as she turned to face him.

"I know you're a Lockheart, but not, _His Lockheart."_

"Well, now you do" Tifa looked back to where she was going and didn't continue speaking any longer, she just pulled her arm away and made her way to her seat. Cloud followed her, and sat down too, he placed himself in a chair right in front of her. It's not like he wanted to, it was the only seat left.

All this time Cloud thought she was from a different family. They've been friends with the Lockhearts eversince he started high school, but he never knew there was a daughter in the family. She never showed up and he never heard her father talk about her. So now, much to his surprise, he learned that Tifa was also a descendant of the famous Lockhearts. Now he gets why Zack said her family was an asset.

The food they were going to eat was already pre-ordered, so it only took about two minutes 'til their meal came. Tifa wished it never did though, it was horrible; it was this gourmet meal that tasted like sugar, prawns and vinegar mixed together. They called it the house's specialty, but it had the worst taste ever. Her father, Rufus and Cloud's parents seem enjoy it though, but Cloud appears to agree with Tifa's opinion on this one. It sucked, the food I mean.

The two barely touched their lunch. Tifa ended up playing with the beef and its orange slimy sauce, Cloud on the other hand ended up drinking his fifth orange juice refill.

The meeting could not be anymore boring. It seemed like they've been talking for 12 hours.

What was the point of bringing the two of them there anyway? No one ever talked to them. No one asked their opinions. Hell, they didn't even know what the others were talking about. It was full of business jargon, it sounded like some other language only rich business men speak. It composed of percentages, gross incomes. Yada yada yada.

The raven haired girl sighed, she couldn't take watching these people anymore.

BORING.

She couldn't get why they were so engrossed. Mrs. Strife was pleasantly listening to the conversation. Mr. Strife and her dad was immersed in the discussion, the two didn't seem to run out of words to speak. Rufus would occasionally butt in; he too seems to be engrossed.

Tifa's eyes fell on Cloud; he was as uninterested as she was. It made her somewhat glad; at least someone was on the same page.

She began to play with the food in her plate once more; she was quietly crushing the beans until she felt someone step on her foot.

"Ouch." she mouthed to Cloud

_Oops, too hard._

Then she stepped on his.

"What the fuck?!" His face scrounged up as he irritatingly whispered the rhetorical question then he stepped on her again. Tifa's eyes broke wide open; she opened her mouth and stepped again. So did Cloud. That cycle happened again…and again and again.

The conversation with the older people, plus Rufus, stopped and they looked at both Cloud and Tifa with their eyebrows in odd positions. They couldn't help but pause their dialogue since the table was already shaking. The two just looked back at the rest of them and both gave a shy smile. They looked like children who got caught trying to steal cookies.

"Are you okay?" Rufus asked.

"Yea, I'll just go to the restroom" Tifa stood up and proceeded out the VIP area. When Tifa walked out, their gazes fixed on Cloud. Cloud alone.

"I have to go too." He awkwardly stood up and made his way to the lavatory, just like Tifa.

Tifa opened the faucet of the rather extravagant restroom. She wet her face just to get rid of the drowsiness. It was just all too boring. She imagined how could've spent this day with Zack and Aerith; it could've actually been loads of fun. But no, she had to go to this stupid meeting, so instead, she had to eat awful food, listen to boring conversations and get stepped on by Cloud Strife.

She spent a little more time fixing herself, she took the high pony off; she always liked it better with her hair down. It was more comfortable. Once she regained her composure and blew some steam off, she lazily walked out, and as she opened the door, she immediately spotted Cloud who was leaning against the wall, cross armed. He was waiting for her. Tifa's eyes once again shot wide open upon seeing him. Her irritation level was going sky high again.

"What? I'm not going to rape you or something" Cloud said as he stepped towards Tifa. He was equally irritated, I pressume.

"Ha- Ha" She said in the most mocking tone. "I know. I sort of figured that out when I realized that you assault women by stepping on their feet"

He rolled his eyes "I was just trying to grab your attention"

"You could've just nudged it" This was turning into another argument.

"I was at first, but you weren't paying any attention" Tifa was guilty as charged. She must've been too preoccupied with her bean crushing frolic that she didn't notice.

"So you tried to pound my toes?"

"I didn't realize that I stepped too hard"

"Well, when you did, why didn't you stop?"

Okay, bicker bicker bicker.

"I didn't stop because your heels hurt a thousand times more!"

Guilty as charged again. Tifa's heels were ruthless.

The girl was about to speak but no arguments she could think of could answer to his previous point. She lost this time.

The young lady simply walked pass him, just to keep her pride up.

"Hey, where're you going?" She heard Cloud's voice

"Back to the VIP room, where else?" His question seemed obvious.

"You're weaker than I thought Lockheart" He smirked. Tifa just stared back at him.

_I don't get it_

"I say we ditch this place" Cloud shrugged. Tifa still just stared back at him "You're as bored as hell as I am. Plus, you wanted to go around Midgar right?"

"Oh, I'd love to ditch this place, but not with you" She said shrewdly.

"Fine, new girl. Suit yourself" With that the pair walked out of the mini hall. She turned left, going to the VIP room. He turned right, going to the exit

While Tifa was walking, her brain got filled with turmoil; she spent time thinking about what she would do.

_Come on Tifa, you'd rather spend a day here than with that ass right? I mean, it's just going to be you and the boring talks and the bad food…Damn, who am i kidding?_

The door is nearing…

_Wait. I've been thinking of ditching this place the moment we came in. Well, I can go by myself…No, I can't. Agh. Damn. No. Be strong Teef. You can't succumb to spike-head. Okay, this is it, the door's coming nearer; if they see me I wouldn't be able to retaliate. Aaagh! Strife, why do you have to make it so hard? _

It was a hard choice, surely, if she chose to go out with Cloud, her pride would plummet down; then again, she couldn't last one more minute, no, second in that pit of torment.

Cloud on the other hand was smirking as he walked towards the exit.

_Hmm. Wait for it. Wait for it. In 3…2…1_

"Cloud." He was right, he knew she'd come. That girl was like him. She wouldn't or should I say, _couldn't_ miss this opportunity.

Now they were walking together. Cloud pulled the door out for her and she agreeably walked out. Tifa took a deep breath "Out at last!"

"You haven't seen "out"" Cloud grabbed her hand, it caught her by surprise but later on she felt relaxed with it.

Tifa didn't know where he was taking her, it was queer though. Are they going to walk?

Cloud led her to a small alley. There were bins and bags containing things I don't even know about. It was kind of grotesque. It was a very dirty place.

Why would Cloud take Tifa to such a place?

Cloud stepped forward, leaving his companion to stand alone. "What are you doing?"

Cloud didn't answer; he just went further until he reached a huge box

"Cloud?!" Tifa was starting to get annoyed now. She followed him in. Hell, he was a jerk for not answering.

"What are you doing?" Tifa impatiently asked the blond.

"Shh. I just brought us here to get our ride." Cloud mover the big box away and it revealed their mode of transportation

"What is it? Bat mobile?" She said sarcastically, she hasn't seen it yet.

"Shut up." It sort of sounded like Cloud was threatening her. Then, Tifa's eyes went wide open when she saw what was behind the box. It was awesome. Wow, Cloud could be hailed the prince of coolness for owning such a thing.

"This is my Fenrir" Cloud said as he looked at the motorbike. It had a low ride and it was colored black. Shiny. Tifa could tell he spent a lot of time and money on this one. She's seen bikes like these, but Cloud's Fenrir had all the upgrades and perks it needed. Plus, everything looked customized. See, I told you Cloud was eccentric.Tifa could also tell that Cloud loved it; she knew that it was valued by him.

"Oh wow. This is nice Cloud" Tifa closer and followed its features with her finger. Cloud went behind her and watched as she observed the bike. Heck yea, he was proud of his Fenrir, and he knew that it was bonus points for the chicks too. "No wonder all the girls go gaga over you" Tifa let out a small laugh as she mockingly mimicked his fan girls.

"They have taste Lockheart" Tifa just rolled her eyes.

"So why is it in this junkyard of a place?" She changed the topic. Right now wasn't the time for hearing Cloud's egotistical stories.

"I couldn't keep it in the parking, my parents don't know about this."

"Sooo...you bought it by yourself?"

"Yup" He said plainly, yet proudly

"Where'd you get the money?"

"I have my ways" He smirked. She smiled

_Grrrl._

What was that?

Cloud and Tifa found themselves looking at each other. Tifa blushed while Cloud gave a small chuckle. It was Tifa's tummy. He remembered that neither of them ate their food properly, she must've been very hungry.

"Hey, I don't know where the new pizza place Zack was telling about is; but I do know where we can get some good burgers" Cloud rode the bike and queued Tifa to get in. She sat on the back seat and wrapped her arms around him. She was surely excited. There were two reasons why. One: this would be here first time to ride such a thing. Two: Her father reprimanded her from riding these.

"It's your call Cloud" she said to his ear.

_I didn't know Cloud Strife was this thoughtful._

---

Tifa enjoyed the breeze going against her skin. Cloud on the other hand, enjoyed Tifa's skin going against his. What? Cloud's a completely normal teenage boy, he had hormones too you know.

It didn't take too long 'til they got to the burger place. It was quite humble, there were seats with umbrellas on the tables outside and comfortable couch like seats inside. The over all color theme was blue, red and yellow, it made the place look fun. You could smell the roasted burger smell from the outside.

Cloud halted his fenrir and got off, he helped Tifa out too.

"God that smells good" Tifa closed her eyes and breathed the scent. She was so hungry.

"Let's get in then" Cloud gently pushed towards the door.

When they reached the counter, the fat lady with extremely curly orange hair greeted them, well, greeted Cloud.

"Hello Cloud, oh, who's this? Another one?"

"Another one?" Tifa whispered to Cloud.

"She's quite pretty dear, prettiest than the rest of them" The high pitch voiced women winked. Cloud scratched his head.

"Well, we'll be having two special burgers" Cloud dropped some gil and yanked Tifa outside.

The two of them sat down in the left most table of the garden like restaurant front

"What did she mean by another one Cloud?" Tifa raised an eyebrow

"Nothing"

"Come on? Did she mean dates?"

"Well, yea" He didn't seem to be interested in this particular topic.

She laughed "How many girlfriends have you exactly had?"

"Two?" He answered with uncertainty. Tifa raised her eyebrows again.

_Cloud Strife only had two girlfriends?_

"Yea two, but I went out with more than that" He leaned back and looked to his left

"How many?" She took pleasure from intriguing him

"I don't remember"

"Approximately…?"

"27?"

She laughed again.

"What? What's your problem?" Cloud scoffed, he was getting irritated; she was too nosy for her own good.

"Nothing" He seems to be sensitive about this topic. It made it more enjoyable for Tifa. "Did you like all of them?"

"No."

"Then why'd you go out?"

"Just incase" he said plainly

"Just incase?"

"I find someone"

"Oh. I see" Tifa stopped asking questions. It was enough,she didn't want Cloud to leave her all alone, she didn't know the way back if he ever did leave her. She just started to look around admiring the setting. It was very striking indeed, there were bright flowers everywhere and the grass was green. The place was more beautiful than their school yard.

"How about you?" It was Cloud's turn to ask.

"None" She said surely

"What? You're a liar Lockheart" He said with a straight face. She has to be lying.

"It's true" She said with that sure tone once again then she looked down as she continued her sentence "I…I guess, I've never felt it again"

"So that means you did have a boyfriend?"

"No, I was a kid back then" she shook her head

Cloud could feel her uneasiness, so he changed the topic a little bit "So, you have any crushes here in Midgar?"

"…"

"Zack?"

"Well, Zack's a really sweet guy, hot and all, I like him a lot, but not that way. And I think he has a thing for Aerith"

Was she disappointed?

"No, they've been friends for the longest time. I know." The truth is, Cloud agrees with Tifa, his bestfriend does seem to like Aerith, but he wanted to know if Tifa felt something.

Tifa just looked at him and shook her head with a small smile on.

Before either of them could speak a word, a waiter came and gave them their food. It looked good, a million times better than what they had earlier. And it definately tasted better too.

Both indulged.

Once they were done, Cloud escorted her back to his fenrir.

"Where are we going next Cloud?"

"To my condo unit" Tifa was kind of taken aback

"Where?"

"My condo unit, let's get you out of those clothes"

"Get me out of my what?" Tifa's eyes were back to wide-open mode

"Get you out of your clothes, it would be more comfortable. I mean its cold, don't you think you should get warmer"

"Excuse me?"

Cloud laughed, she looked so funny. "What's so funny?" she said again

"Okay let me rephrase that" Cloud was still kind of chuckling. His statements did sound kind of awkward. He couldn't blame Tifa for feeling uncomfortable.

"What I mean is we should go to my condo unit, since I have more comfortable clothes there. It's kind of cold, and I don't think your backless dress would be healthy, so you should change. Plus your heels would kill your feet and I wouldn't risk getting stepped on by those again" Tifa felt, well, relieved yet kind of embarrassed. But she felt like smiling too. She gave a small laugh and punched Cloud's arm.

Hell definitely froze.

---

**Ch0knaT: **I hope you guys liked it. It's the first time we see Cloud and Tifa get along. XDDD

Is it too fluffy? I hope the light-heartedness of this chapter didn't ruin anything. T.T

Anyway, thanks again for reading. Sorry if there are any errors.

-hands out cookies-

Press that review button! ;)


	7. Eyeballs

**Ch0knaT: **

Hello everyone, sorry for the late update. Well, uhmm. This shall serve as my late Valentine's offering to you guys -hug-. I hope you'll like it. This is a fun chappie, well, I hope you do find it fun. Hehe.:)

To all who reviewed and read, a thousand thanks. ;)

Sorry for the errors and typos. XD

Here goes…

PS: I was inspired by this fan art,check it out.: http://i10. I'm sooo hyped about writing now.XDDD

**_My Runny Nosed Hime_**

**_Chapter VII: Eyeball…s_**

The roaring sounds of the engine finally came to a halt as Cloud and Tifa reached the front of the condominium. The building was quite high, it had about thirty floors. Just like the other buildings around the sector, it had futuristic and techy feel. Huge blue tinted windows filled the exterior walls of the structure, the sides were painted white and there were furnished balconies on each space allotted for the rooms.

As soon as they dismounted Fenrir, Cloud led Tifa toward the entrance. There was an appropriate distance between them and neither talked but the guard still gave cynical stares as they walked towards the lobby. Cloud didn't seem to be bothered but Tifa felt quite uneasy with the man's gaze. What's so wrong with walking towards the lobby anyway?

"What's with the creepy guard?" She said in a weak voice as she walked a little faster to catch up with the fast paced chocobo head.

No reply. The dude just walked straight up. The girl just sighed, this was typical of him; Cloud was never the chatty type.

The lobby wasn't that big but there were halls which lead to different activity rooms, Tifa saw the signs with arrows, there were a lot places you can hang out in, such as the spa or the pool or the arcade room or the bar. It seemed like no one could ever possibly get bored in a place like this, it was an overwhelming site for enjoyment.

When the two of them reached the elevator, Cloud immediately pressed 24 on the floor buttons located in the right hand side of the elevator. His room was quite high, Cloud liked it that way, he liked seeing things as they happen. It's always been like that, even when he was a kid.

"Wow, your room is in a pretty sweet floor, I bet the view's awesome there" Tifa attempted making a conversation again. The tight space in the elevator was bad enough; silence going alongside it wasn't a good option for her.

"Yea, I've always liked watching things from a high point of view, it makes me feel kind of free I guess" Cloud slightly, almost not, smiled at that thought, he remembered saying that same thing years ago.

"_Chocobo-kun" It sounded as sweet as ever, the voice belonged to a little girl with pigtails. She sat in the edge of a wooden but sturdy looking treehouse._

"_Yea?" said the blond boy who sat beside her_

"_Why do you like it up here?"_

"_I like watching things from above, it makes me feel free!"_

As Cloud remembered, he turned his head to look at the young lady beside him. She was looking at the numbers that were flashing in response to the floors.

Stare.

Stare.

Stare.

…but it didn't take too long until she caught him looking.

"What?" She raised a brow

_Shit._

"You have dirt on your nose" Nice excuse Cloud. What a lie. I guess he hated being caught red handed.

"Really?" Tifa's eyes drifted to her nose. Cute. It made Cloud laugh a bit.

"Over here" Cloud stretched his hand towards her nose, with a plain face, I might add, and "wiped" the imaginary spot of dirt off Tifa's very clean nose. That move just made Cloud Strife officially the biggest excuse maker in the whole of Midgar.

_She kind of reminds me of her…_

Before Cloud's thoughts went into much deeper pondering, _ting!_, the elevator door opened.

24th floor.

The two of them went out and Cloud led the way once more, they went across the brown carpeted floor, went to the corner most section and there a blue door greeted them.

Room 2401.

The blond got a blue pass card out of his pocket and easily slid it down the sensor of the door. The red light in front of it blinked two times before it turned green. The door was unlocked now. Cloud casually opened the door and prompted Tifa to go in.

Tifa's jaws would've fallen to the ground if she didn't care about losing her cool in front of Cloud. Gah. His unit was amazing.

On the right of the door was a humble kitchen/dining room. Just ahead, forward, of her was the entertainment room with all the kinds of perks she could imagine. On her left was a hall which leads to what probably was his room. Tifa liked the youthful aura of the place; it was a lot better than the formal old looking monotonous house she'd been going home to everyday for the past week.

"Well, welcome home" Cloud stretched his arms lazily; for him, this place couldn't get anymore uninteresting.

"This is. Wow. Just, wow Cloud."

He smirked. "You know what else is interesting?" Tifa just looked back at him "I get to spend my days here without adults" He walked, went to the ref and got a can of beer.

Hooray for under-aged drinking then.

She envied him. Oh how she prayed she'd have a Lockheart-daddy free life.

"Lucky you then Strife" She scanned the room and looked at the objects in the house, they looked so expensive.

"Whatever." Cloud thought she was overrating his place. "Why don't you go to my room and change already?" Cloud made his way to the hall leading to his room and the new girl followed right behind him.

Cloud's room was neat. This was surprising for Tifa, she knew he never liked cleaning, but what the hey? Her eyes were telling her otherwise.

"Well, here are my old clothes. I wore them back when I was twelve or something, you can salvage whatever you want" Tifa who was still scanning the room, broke away from her state of awe and listened to Cloud's instruction. He opened this one green cabinet; the clothes there seemed to be somewhat her size.

Tifa proceeded to the clothes and started looking for things she can wear. Why does he keep these things? She laughed to herself.

Hmmm. Something seems to be wrong.

Aah.

Yea, she almost forgot the fact that Cloud was still in the room, watching her. You know what, there was this some weird state of comfortableness. It was so "comfortably-weird" that she would've changed right there in front of him if she didn't think thoroughly.

"Uhm. Cloud?"

"Yea?"

"Well, don't you think you should go out of the room first? I mean, I am going to change" The raven haired girl said.

"Yea, okay" Why the hell am I staying here anyway? "I'll wait for you outside then." With that the spike head made his way out.

----

Cloud turned on his TV for a while and browsed through the programs, but nothing good was on. What the hell was taking her so long? The irritated blond flipped the channel for the 123rd time.

The shows were fucking boring.

"Faster Lockheart! You're killing precious time!" Cloud was getting impatient again. What's with girls anyway? When it comes to clothes, they take centuries to get all set.

3…2…1…

Just as Cloud was about to ram the door of his room open, the knob turned and it opened. An equally frustrated Tifa greeted him. "Sorry, it was hard to find clothes that would fit properly." She rolled her eyes. In what place was he in to get mad at her anyway? I mean, she didn't like delaying things too; it was simply just because the clothes were hard to go through.

Tifa was wearing a yellow shirt with a print of a chocobo right in the middle; she was also wearing black shorts with yellow stitches and, of course a blue jacket to match.

Cloud's irritation mellowed down. She looked funny. Erm. Sweet, in her child-Cloud outfit, but he drifted his view down, noticed her poor pathetic feet and then laughed.

"What the hell is it this time?" She was getting tired of these Cloudy-boy games

"You aren't used to heels aren't you?" Cloud was holding back his laughter. Tifa pouted, she looked down. Her feet was somewhat red and filled with cut like marks, well, her heels were the root of all pain after all.

"Shut up"

Cloud went to once cabinet and got a pair of black strap Velcro sandals. "Are these okay for your feet?" Tifa just nodded.

"Well, we're all set then. Let's go."

They went.

----

They rode Fenrir again, Tifa didn't know where they were going, but she trusted Cloud, she had to.

They arrived at this mini theme park, it wasn't very far from where Cloud's condo was, but this would be Tifa's first time to see it. It wasn't as grand as the Gold Saucer, it would do though. It had quite a few rides; the stalls were what dominated the place though, there were shooting games, hammer games, everything. It was nice to walk around the place too since it wasn't overly crowded.

"This isn't much of a good place, but it's the only place I can take you for now" Cloud said and scratched the back of his head as they walked towards the entrance. _For now_

She smiled at his thoughtfulness. "It's okay, this place seems nice" She was more than thankful that she went with Cloud. It's definitely a whole lot better than staying in that stupid restaurant.

As they walked around the park, Cloud noticed people staring at Tifa.

Damn. It was the shorts.

"The whole point of getting you changed was to get you in more comfortable clothes" This time it was Cloud's turn to start the conversation. He was getting irritated by the attention the "spectators" were giving to his companion.

"These are more comfortable" She didn't get it. This was like his gazillionth time raising a problem about her. What would it be this time?

"People are staring at you" He said calmly but Tifa didn't miss the hint of frustration in his voice. He looked around the place, men everywhere were looking. How rude can these people get?

"Well, it's either this or your geeky checkered bell bottom pants Cloud. The others don't fit me" She answered back with a mini death glare. Then, out of nowhere, Cloud wrapped his arm around Tifa's waist and pulled her close to him.

_What the hell?_

Tifa opened her mouth to protest but before she could say anything, the blond interjected. "Look, those fucktards are irritating me. I don't want them staring at us as we walk around. That would be crappy." He said simply, emotionlessly. He didn't even look at her. "If they think you're with me, they'd stop gluing there eyes to your butt. This way I don't have to squish them one by one so they can stop staring"

Cloud was not normally like this, but Tifa's not a normal girl too after all.

What Cloud said kept Tifa's mouth shut. It made her smile though, she didn't know why, but she did.

I guess the time they were spending was enjoyable. They rode all sorts of stuff and went to different booths. From the roller coasters to bumper cars to haunted mansions, they rode them all. The arguing never went away though, but unlike their previous ones, it wasn't heated, they were more of joking whenever they argued now. Laughing was becoming quite recurrent too. I really don't know what happened to Gaia that day, but they were getting along, very well even.

The pair found themselves sitting in this wooden chair in front of a popcorn stand. Tired? Well, I guess they were. They sat there looking at the people passing by. Cloud leaned on the bench and had his arms crossed while Tifa sat in an "Indian seat" position.

"Don't you think they're looking for us?" The raven haired girl questioned. She was getting kind of worried, but of course, she wouldn't let anxiousness or guilt ruin anything. She respected her dad, yes, but I guess, being away from him for so long sort of developed her rebellious side. Plus, Cloud seems to know what he was doing, she was positive she'd survive the day without getting punished.

"We can always say you had diarrhea" The blond smirked

She rolled her eyes.

"I'm kidding; I'll take care of everything" Well, okay, Tifa thought she was going to be fine, I mean he did say so. Cloud seemed to have mastered the art of rebellion. In fact, he mastered it in levels more than Tifa can imagine.

They sat there for a while. They talked about the people strolling around. The two were somewhat laughing at them. Passing their judgments. There were goons and a lot weirdo people. There were also mismatched couples and stupid looking groups of people. The conversation wasn't really enjoyable, but, that's how they passed the time. There's nothing else I can do about it.

I bet they would've stayed there longer if Tifa didn't see a huge cuddly moogle in one of the booths. She was easily attracted by its cuteness. Of course the seventeen year old couldn't resist not having it so she immediately pulled Cloud out of the wooden chair and took him to the stall.

It was a small stall and it didn't seem to be quite popular. In the place was a wheel. The rule of the game in the booth was definitely simple, you have to roll the wheel and each part of the wheel has a corresponding task, you have to do that task so you can get the prize you desire. In this case: the huge moogle.

"Are you sure Lockheart?" Cloud was quite skeptical, the consequences were quite extreme. Eat chocobo eyeballs, drink worm puree…etcetera

The tasks were just plain gross and out of all the 5 tasks you can get, there's only one "lucky" task which is to eat strawberry cake. But what were the chances?

As much as an adventurer Cloud is, he didn't like these things, but it seems like he couldn't do anything anymore. What Lockheart wants, Lockheart gets.

"Of course, and besides, I'll be doing the tasks, not you. I hope I get the cake." She answered the male's earlier question

"Idiot"

_Who would go through all of this to get a moogle?_

"It's none of your business" With that statement she turned to the thin short bald old man with a mustache who owned the stall. "Well, let's spin the wheel"

…and so they did…

Chocobo eyes…Cake…Worms…Chili…Stale bread…Chocobo eyes…Cake…Worms…Chili…Stale bread…Chocobo eyes…ca--…

CHOCOBO EYES.

Suddenly Tifa felt woozy, but she was never a quitter, so she asked for it and went ahead. Quite disgusted and worried she held the small plate of eyeballs. She had to eat the three pieces. Three God forsaken pieces.

Cloud could see the reluctance…and well, fear in her eyes. He found it silly; she really does do everything to get what she wants. He shook his head and watched her as she closed her eyes to take a bit at the eyeball which was stuck to the stick. The stick went near..and nearer..and nearer...

But then again…

Without warning, Cloud grabbed the stick out of her hands and he ravished the pieces quickly. His face looked very very sour. He looked ten times more disgusted than when he ate the house specialty in the restaurant earlier today. Tifa could do nothing but stare back. Wow. He, in one way or another acted as this knight who saves her just in the nick of time.

As Cloud swallowed the last piece, he looked at the wide open eyed Tifa.

"What?" He asked as if nothing remarkable happened

"You ate that?"

"It wasn't bad" He said coolly. Liar.

"Thank you" She said with the most charming smile. She wanted to hug him. The spike head was so…so…so sweet.

The smile left Cloud staring just right back at her. It was that trance again.

…

…

…

"Get your stupid moogle and let's go somewhere else" Unfortunately, for us CloTi fans, Cloud had to stop the yet another staring contest and they went on and walked around the park.

---

The two ventured around the place, but Cloud felt bad; bad, as in puking bad. Just when they were about to go take another break from walking Cloud ran up to a garbage can and started, well..uhmm...barfing. Tifa soon followed. She was worried. It was _her fault _after all.

She held Cloud's back and rubbed her hand against it. She was so sorry and guilty and concerned.

"Cloud, I'm sorry" Was she going to cry?

"I told you, you were an idiot. What if you ate those things?" Puke. "Then you would've been" Puke. "…vomiting right now." Puke.

"Sorry" she continued rubbing his back and with more concern running through her system.

Cloud kept vomiting. Vomiting. Vomiting. Vomiting.

The raven haired girl was helpless, and just when you think it couldn't get any worse. It would. A group of men went near them and started taunting and hitting on Tifa

"Hey, why don't you leave your boyfriend there" Said the super dooper thin orange haired goon

"He's puking his ass of. What a man." Continued the bald dude with nose rings

One man with black long hair stared at Tifa "Missy, I'd love to take you with me..and maybe we can play some game together.." But before the guy could finish whatever he was saying, he felt a cold object pointed against his neck.

It was Cloud.

The blond wiped his lips and spoke "I'd love to see you try buddy" He said with flaring eyes. He hated these types of people.

BOOM!

That did it. Rumble time. The two other persons started going towards Cloud but he easily dodged them.

Tifa. She stood there, watching. Blushing. Heart beating fast. He was…he was just like her Chocobo-kun.

----

I am not going to vividly explain what happened during the fight, unleash your imagination, but just to give you a hint, let's just say it wasn't pretty and the two of them, Cloud and Tifa, ended up in the security office. Good news though, Cloud won the fight. See, atleast there's somewhat a positive outcome.

The two teenagers sat in front of the desk of the head in security. The fat groggy eyed man looked furious, furious but funny. He looked like a bulldog who attempted a face lift. He was asking for their information.

Having called their parents, he had nothing left to do but to lecture them about good manners and right conduct.

Damn Boring.

The two of them just kept looking and smirking at each other, somehow they didn't feel guilt. Neither cared about their parents anyway and besides, the fun was worth it.

About thirty minutes in, Mr. Lockhearts and the Strifes came in the office.

"Are these yours?" Said the head as he stood up the table

"Yes Sir, what happened?" It was Cloud's mom

"Your son Ma'am had a fight with 3 men.." Again,for Cloud and Tifa: blah…blah…blah…blah.

---

After another thirty minutes the two families were finally done with all the police talk.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Lockheart, I'm sure Cloud wouldn't do anything like that again"

"It's alright Sir" I'll say it again: Tifa's dad was a hypocrite.

After a few more apologies and exchange of words, the two families went their separate ways.

---

Tifa sat in the back of the car, she felt quite bummed with her dad. Well, she always did feel that way, but tonight, the frustration was going more "sky high" than usual. His father's anger too seems to be going off the charts.

"First the boy takes off without my permission, IN A FORMAL MEETING, I might add. He's supposed to be staying there. He is the heir of the Strife's company after all. What a huge lack of discipline and responsibility." Tifa's father was ranting again. She couldn't help but feel more irritated, her father doesn't even know Cloud well.

Her father just continued ranting and lecturing her the whole way going back home. When they went down the car Tifa swore she heard the halleluiah chorus, but it didn't stop there. Mr. Lockheart had to say one more statement.

"I don't want you near that boy again Tifa"

_Like that's going stop me._

_---_

_OOOOH..why does Cloud have a dagger, does he always bring that:o _

**Ch0knat: **I hope you guys liked this chappie. It had lots of CloTi moments and I really enjoyed writing it and editing it. :)

Again sorry for the late update.

Mmmm..I hope everything in this chapter went well, I wanted it to be sweet but not overly sweet, I hope I did it right. Please review so I can correct or continue whatever things I did.

Thanks so much again. I love all of you. Belated Happy Valentine's. ;)

Please review. Click click click click click click click click click click. :D


	8. Cinderella

**Ch0knaT: **Thanks for the reviews everyone –hands out cookies-

I hope you'll like this chappie. I hope this part will clear some things up. ;)

Plus, this is the chappie that triggers all the fun stuff and it gives a deeper. Erm. Deeper view of Cloud and Tifa's relationship:D

Please read and review

Oh and uhm, I edited chappie 7 a little bit, I found more errors. XD

Here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter VIII: Cinderella**_

_It was late in the afternoon then; the haze of the blue sky had already turned into a sea of the colors orange, yellow and red. The sun was starting to disappear behind the trees. The feathery clouds remained as calm as ever as they made shapes of different figures in the lazy sky. Gentle breezes were making the leaves rustle and fly around the area._

_The place couldn't be more serene, but in that relaxing panorama a little girl of about six years old sat in a wooden bench, crying. Her eyes were already sore; her nose was so runny that she had to breathe with her mouth. Her lips were pouting and her yellow polka-dot dress as well as parts of her hair was already wet with all the tears she had shed._

_Moping, she held one of her red sandals; she was trying to attach this strap to the other end of the shoe. One of the straps holding it together snapped, it was impossible for her to walk with it. So now, it's clear that she's making a futile attempt of fixing it. How else on earth was she going home without those shoes? The rocks along the road would definitely hurt her feet. Her mother was still at work, and no one was passing by, she couldn't ask for help._

_Still crying, she focused all her attention in repairing the piece of footwear. She tried tying it; she tried sticking it back to the hole. She tried everything she could think of, nothing worked._

_Her sobbing was getting worse but a few more tears and she heard a little boy's voice._

_She looked up to see bright blue orbs stare at her. A little boy with blond hair that spiked out in all directions, just like a chocobo's, I might add, stood on front of her. "What are you doing cry baby?" It was so naïve. Wasn't it obvious that she was fixing her shoe?_

"_I'm trying to fix it dumb butt! What else?" She said, stuck her tongue out and then gave an even larger pout. She was already in befuddled, this guy couldn't add up to her frustration. The last thing she needed was someone teasing her. There should be no one disturbing her in that moment of distress. _

"_I was just trying to help!" He said angrily as he took out a tongue too and pointed a finger at her. You couldn't blame him, his intentions were as clear as crystal. He was really only trying to help her._

_Then she bawled even more._

_The little boy stared at her and then laughed. She was being silly and indecisive. One second she's fighting back, the next she's crying vulnerably. Typical of little girls he thought._

"_You know little girl, you remind me of that princess who lost her shoes!" Then, as if it was some great news, she, out of nowhere smiled._

_Finally. She stopped._

"_Really? I'm like a Hime?" She wiped the tears out of her eyes._

"_Yea!" The boy raised his hand up and made a funny Superman like pose. It made the no longer crying, but still runny nosed hime laugh even more. This boy had a thing for making her smile._

"_Wow, no one ever told me that little boy."_

"_I'm not little!" He seemed to be taken aback by being called little.  
_

"_If you say so then" She shrugged "Say, uhmm, can you help me fix my sandals? I don't know how I can go home without them" The little boy nodded,sat beside her and helped her put the strap back to where it should be._

_It seemed a long while already, but they still haven't finished the shoe. The little boy's patience ran out. "You don't need to fix that!" He jumped off the bench._

"_But how am I going to go home?" The little girl looked as if she was going to cry again._

_Then, a brilliant idea popped in the boy's head! "I KNOW!"_

_The girl stared back at him. "I'll carry you home, just like a knight."_

"_Huh?"_

"_I'll be your knight, why don't you ride my back." _

"_Aren't I too heavy?"_

"_Nope!" He said confidently._

_At first the tiny black haired girl was unsure if she would ride on his back, but the blond told her to trust him and with that she stood on the bench and rode his back._

"_Am I a knight now?" The boy asked as he started taking huge steps._

"_You're more like a chocobo" She said faintly with a giggle. She played with his hair. She was teasing her, why, his hair did look like a chocobo's_

_The blond boy carried her on his back; they followed the small paved lane. He was quite sure he knew where the girl lived. Why, they were neighbors of course. Plus, she was popular, all the little boys knew her, all of them wanted to play with her. The little girls too wanted to be her friend. I'd say social wise, they were opposites. He was never a crowd favorite; I guess he was too mischievous for their liking. He had a few friends, two or three I guess. _

_For the chocobo head, the girl on his back was the prettiest in Nibelheim. He didn't know her personally though, but his house was right in front of hers. It wasn't until now though that he mustered up the courage to talk to her. _

_He would never admit the huge crush though._

_Tiredness didn't seem to overcome Chocobo-kun; he liked carrying the princess on his back. His hime, on the other hand, fell to a deep nap. _

_He smiled, her eyes must've been exhausted from all that weeping. Well, atleast she felt comfortable on his back._

_As he walked he could hear nothing but the little girl's runny nose. _

_Sniff._

_Sniff._

_Sniff._

_This piggy back ride was a start of a good friendship._

…

…

…

_Suddenly, the surroundings turned dark. It was that foggy place again. The little boy looked his back; the little girl was no longer there. She was on the other side of the bridge which was right in front of him._

_Footsteps. The little girl's scream._

_**Riiiing.**_

Cloud's eyes bolted wide open as he heard the alarm clock. He sat up and put his hands to his face, just like Tifa, he had dreams from his childhood; the odd thing is that he's never had them in quite a long time; it was only just now that he dreamt of them again.

"Fuck" He rubbed his temples. He didn't want to remember those things anymore. It was tough for him and that little girl wasn't exactly a wonderful part of his childhood.

Cloud sat down and stared at the huge window again.

_Agh. Damn dream_.

He got of his bed, went to the bathroom to take a bath and started dressing up, it was Monday again. School. Loads of shit, but at least this time, the war between him and Tifa has subdued.

---

It was around 8.10 in the morning, the rooms, halls and corridors in the school were filling up. Classes were about to start soon.

As Aerith and Zack entered classroom 4-R, a surprise scene greeted them;

No it wasn't porn. No it wasn't a huge chocobo. No it wasn't someone from FFX. No it wasn't Jenova; it was Cloud and Tifa, talking. Smiling. Not arguing.

It was them, getting along.

The two ended up looking at each other. What got into the new girl and spike-head? Usually, they'd just sit in their desks minding they're own business. Usually, Cloud wouldn't reply to Tifa. Usually, there were bolts of lightning across their eyes.

The chatting pair took a break from talking when they noticed Zack and Aerith looking at them. There was a pause of silence.

Zack looking at Cloud.

Aerith looking at Tifa.

"Is there anything wrong?" Tifa broke that queer moment.

Zack smirked. "So the wind's blowing the other way around now e? I knew you'd be lover boy Cloud" Then he chuckled. Tifa rolled her eyes. Aerith laughingly elbowed him. Cloud, smirked too, but then, gave him the finger. Well, that reaction from Cloud was better than being punched by him. I bet if Zack said that last week, he'd be raw meat by now, but lucky him, Cloud and Tifa are…well, _friends_now.

"I see you two are getting along today" Aerith said with smile. Cloud and Tifa didn't know how to react. Were they shy? Were they embarrassed? Flattered?

They were never friendly with each other, it must've really been a surprise for other people to see them getting along. It must've been very unusual to see them together like that. Over a weekend, Cloud and Tifa changed attitudes towards each other.

"Good morning class" before neither Tifa nor Cloud could explain the sudden change of atmosphere between them; their first period teacher came in and that started the cycle of imperious boringness.

20 minutes since the start of class and it's been as boring as hell. Just like every class Cloud didn't listen, he spent time looking out "his window".

The bored student turned to his right to observe a busy concentrated Tifa who was trying to answer the sample questions their teacher put in the board.

Hn, Cloud Strife never really had the knack for answering those things, he thought it was a waste of energy doing it anyway. It's not recorded, why try to answer it?

So, instead of answering like an obedient school boy, he stared.

Where? At our hot-new-girl again of course.

He couldn't get why he kept doing that though, there was just something that drew him to her. He didn't know what it was. It wasn't that he liked her or anything, he's positive he feels nothing special, well, _almost positive._ I mean, he should know if he likes anyone right? He has dated more than twenty lucky young ladies. He has all the experience he needs. And right now, he's not feeling the same thing he felt with his girlfriends, that means he doesn't like her right? But then again, this certain "feeling" with Tifa is quite different and difficult to understand, plus, as I've said, this is not a normal situation and Tifa Lockheart's not a normal girl.

_Shit. Why am I even thinking about her this way?_

Tifa took a break at trying to answer the question, looked at Cloud, smiled and went back to work.

_Damn. Strife, you're not falling for Lockheart aren't you? Shit._

Maybe he doesn't want it to happen. Falling for Tifa, I mean.

30 minutes till the class ends. Cloud was drawing now; it seemed like a new model for his "personalized" sword collection. He was about to finalize the handle when Cid Highwind, one of their ass-hat teachers knocked.

Their interrupted-lecture-teacher opened the door. Cloud and Zack's eyes met before they stared skeptically at Cid who was, now whispering something to their teacher. It was odd for Tifa, what's with the interruption?

The two teachers seemed to be whispering about something important.

A few more nods from the lecturer and Cid seemed to be done talking. The teacher moved back to the center of the room and then looked at Cid who nodded as if ushering her to talk.

"Cloud Strife, Zack Fair, both of you have been called to the principal's office, you should go there now. Mr. Highwind shall escort you." They knew it. The two boys stood up lazily but arrogantly walked passed the door. It seemed to be a normal routine for them, getting in the principal's office.

This left Tifa puzzled, why the hell would they get called there? She's been with both of them the whole time and she's always been them since last week, they've done nothing mischievous.

"Not again" She heard her seatmate whisper. Man, it made her itch for more answers.

The 30 minutes was done. The class was over now, Cloud and Zack were still not back. After fixing her things, Tifa grabbed her bag and went to Aerith who wasn't done clearing her desk yet.

"Hey, do you know why those two got called to the principal's office?" Tifa asked worriedly at Aerith who just got finished cleaning up.

"Oh it's nothing, don't worry" She said in a reassuring tone, it still left Tifa doubtful though.

"So, you have to tell me, what happened last Saturday. I heard you and Cloud had a date" Change topic. Aerith stood up and the two of them started to walk to their next class.

Damn, she was avoiding the issue.

---

After their next class, Tifa gave it a rest. She didn't try figuring out why they were sent to the principal's office anymore. Although Cloud and Zack were still not back, Tifa decided she shouldn't try prying into their businesses. Aerith did say it was nothing, plus, she might've just been overrating things, it's not like their part of some terrorist group. It was probably about grades or about being late or about community projects.

It was already about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, their classes were over, Tifa wanted to go home already, she had nothing to do here anyway. She had no one to spend time with. Aerith wasn't there, since she went with the teachers to visit and check the venue for the school dance, she did hold a position in the School Government after all, she had to be present in the inspection. As for Cloud and Zack, they were still not off the hook, it's been a whole day but they seemed to still be in the principal's office. Tifa had no one to hang out with or even to walk home with, so there, she decided to stop going around in circles in the school and just go home by herself.

She made her way down the stairs and walked out of the hall. She was near the school gate already when…

SNAP! It was her shoe.

_Crap._

---

Cloud lazily walked down the stairs from the principal's office. Fuck. It was already around five in the afternoon, the sun was already setting, she sky was no longer blue, the breeze was starting to become cold and the school was more or less deserted.

Zack had already went home hours before, he finished his "task" way faster than Cloud. This left him alone.

Oh God. He hated being called to the principal's office like that, but I guess, what he does, does have a price to pay. Hmm. I guess you're all curious now on why he was sent there, but you shall know later on in the progression of this story. For now it shall be a secret.

The blond put his hands around his head so that he could lean on them. He yawned several times as he made his way towards the gate just as he was about to pass the line of benches, something caught his eye. Who's that sitting on the bench?

Tifa.

Cloud walked towards her. She held her black broken shoe in one hand.

De ja vu?

The spike-head almost flinched at the improbability of it all but he simply shrugged it off.

"It broke?" He asked as he sat down beside her

"Yea, damn. I should've been home hours ago. I never had good luck with shoes" She half smiled

"Obviously, remember your shoes of death" He laughed, so did she. The blonde was referring to the high heeled shoes she wore last Saturday that too, was a bad shoe experience. He smirked and then grabbed the shoe from her foot. He examined it, the soles were broken, it looked like her footwear had a mouth.

He tried to hold his hilarity, but he exploded, even his shoes which he sometimes uses for running don't wear out like this.

"What's so funny?" Hey, she's the one with the broken shoe.

"Look, I run with these shoes, they don't have scratch" Laugh. "And you..Yours are new and now they're broken"

"Well sorry, I get the bad pairs."

He simply continued laughing

"Hey are you going to help me or what?" This wasn't a good time for Cloud's taunts.

The young man fixed his composure and put on a straight face. He wanted to help her, not mock her. "Do you have anything we can use to glue it together?"

"No, if I did, I'd be gone hours ago" She rolled her eyes.

"Not even gum?" That was a silly suggestion.

"Nothing" She shook her head.

"Well then, we can't fix" He said plainly

"I knew that"

"Of course"

"How am I supposed to go home then?"

Cloud paused a little bit. "Ride my back."

"What?!"

"Ride my back"

"I'm not doing that Strife"

"Fine, then I'll carry you bridal style"

"Nope. Not that either"

"Potato sack style?"

"No"

"Well then, take off your shoes and walk with bare feet"

"I can't. My feet still have those scratches from my high heels"

"Fly."

"You know that's impossible Cloud"

"Then. Ride. My. Back."

"No"

"Fine, suite yourself" With that Cloud stood up. He quits, he couldn't propose anymore solutions.

He was five steps away when he heard the raven haired girl called his name. He smirked; this was the second time this happened. This was the second time he went off and she called for him. "What is it now Lockheart?" he turned over, pretended he knew nothing of her intentions and walked to Tifa who was biting her lips

"Uhm. Are you still offering your piggy back ride services?"

"Of course new girl" Cloud smirked and turned so his back was facing Tifa. Tifa stood on the bench and then rode Cloud's back. He was careful in handling her, she did wear a skirt after all.

They were just like Hime and Chocobo-kun. It was the same orange sky. It was the same sunset. The same rustling of the leaves. The same circumstance. The same feeling.

Cloud felt relaxed, she wasn't heavy at all. Just like when they rode his Fenrir, he enjoyed the feeling of Tifa against him. Tsk. Hormones.

Tifa too felt relaxed with Cloud's hold on her. She felt, safe. Honestly, she liked the smell of his hair and the feel of it against her cheek.

"Cloud" She said softly, sleepily.

"Hm?"

"Why were you in the principals office?" He could feel her breath tickle his ear.

"It's nothing, just…extra school work." Hn. Another excuse.

"I see" Tifa just nodded and nuzzled her head in the crook of Cloud's neck. Damn. She's way too comfortable now. Cloud's having that tingly feeling. Tingly feelings are not good at this age.

A few more seconds and he felt Tifa's breathing steady, she was asleep now. Cloud smiled to himself, he remembered how this felt before, although it wasn't with his Hime, he still had the same warm feeling. He liked this warm feeling, and he was glad it was with Tifa. Right now, he didn't want it to be his Hime on his back.

It's been about more than 6 years since he last saw his childhood friend, and to be honest he didn't want to see her. Why? Because of guilt. Because of anger. Cloud had always felt guilty about that incident with his Hime. He always felt that it was his fault. It was his fault why his Hime fell in the bridge off Mt. Nibel. Yea, that day he let the most important person to him fall while he stood there. Watching.

He never wants to experience that horrible feeling again. Cloud clearly blamed himself for that incident, but he blamed his childhood friend for everything else. And up to now that scar was still with him. It made him mad at her. He was mad for ever meeting her. He was mad for ever liking her. He was mad for not being able to forget her. He was mad that she was the reason he went off to soldier in the first place. She was the reason he lost his childhood.

All these years Cloud had been confused. He wanted to see her yet, he wanted to forget all about her. He wanted to talk to her, yet he was mad at her for making him feel that way when he was a kid. It's like that stupid cliché line: Do I love to hate you or do I hate to love you.

He never out grew those feelings he had, but when he's with Tifa he forgets, with the new girl, the old feeling disappears and he feels something else. Maybe that's why he was drawn to her.

It was so ironic though, since Tifa is…

_Sniff_…

_HIME?! HOLY FUCKING MOTHER OF GOD._

That's it. Cloud's eyes popped wide open. That sniff. That triggered everything. All of the sudden, Cloud linked everything. Tifa's familiar face. His strange comfortableness around her. The familiar conversations. The seemingly de ja vu like events. Damn. How could he be so ignorant? So stupid?

Tifa Lockheart was his Hime.

He suddenly let go of her legs. She fell on the ground. All the mind-sets of attraction he felt earlier was gone. His likeness meter went back to zero. Even below zero, if that was possible.

"Ouch." Tifa's face scrunged up from the fall, she rubbed her back. The floor hit was really hard. After a few moments of back-rubbing, she looked up to Cloud who was pointing at her. He had a face even Michelangelo couldn't paint. His expression was a mixture of anger, surprise, worry, confusion…everything.

"You're that damn kid who ruined my childhood!"

"What?!" Okay, she didn't get it.

…

…

…

_Oh my God._

"Chocobo-kun…" She couldn't help but whisper. She stood up quickly, ignoring the pain from the fall. Wow. Talk about disbelief. She couldn't trust what she was seeing. She has wanted to see her Chocobo-kun ever since he left Nibelheim. And now. Now he's in front of her. But she couldn't understand, why was he saying those fucked up things. Why was he saying that she ruined his childhood?

"Cloud…"

"Shut up Tifa" He seemed angry. He was angry.

"What the hell's your problem?!"

"You're the problem Hime!" Did he just say that? She felt like crying. This wasn't her childhood friend. Why was he saying those things? She didn't understand.

"I don't understand" It was like when they were kids again.

"You won't!"

_Why does he keep blocking me out?_

Tifa was becoming furious too. He was screaming all these senseless things that she felt gushes of anger towards him.

"CLOUD, JUST TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG?!"

Gah. Such a surge of emotions, negative ones at that. What a reunion.

"I told you didn't I. You're the problem." Cloud said firmly but he wasn't shouting like Tifa. Then…

SLAP!

Tifa's hand met Cloud's cheek. With that, the angered raven haired girl took her shoes off and walked speedily. She didn't mind the stones anymore. Nah. They were nothing compared to what Cloud did to her just a minute ago.

---

It was nine in the evening, Tifa did nothing but stare at her notebook. Nothing was registering, she couldn't study, she couldn't think straight. It was all Cloud. Cloud. Cloud. Cloud. Cloud.

The words he said kept repeating in her head.

"_You're that damn kid who ruined my childhood!"_

"_You ruined everything"_

"_You're the problem…"_

Damn. She treasured her Chocobo-kun so much. She cried so much when he left. She took care of the memories, although she lost parts of her recollection during the fall on the bridge, she tried her best to remember everything that she can about her childhood friend. She waited in front of the mail post everyday. She read the newspapers. Is this what she gets after all that she went through for him?

How dare that sick ass tell her she ruined his childhood!

---

**Ch0knaT:** Weee. I hope that chappie was okay. Mmm. Sorry if it was overly dramatic. I hope it's not too dramatic. Well, there. Now they know they were childhood sweethearts. Erm. Friends. XDDD

Everything seems rough now, but don't worry, it'll be all fine and happy again. CloTi love shall prevail

Please do read and reply. Criticize me if you must, I want to know what I can improve to make you guys enjoy reading this fic more. :)

Thanks so much for the reviews again. I laaaabs all ofs yooooussss! –gives out cookies-

Clickety clickety. I shall reply your reviews with teasers. :p

PS: Sorry if there are typos. I'm really sleepy.XD


	9. Rainy Day Umbrella

**Ch0knaT: **Gah. I would've updated this sooner but then someone shut down the computer without me saving it. Damn. I wasn't able to recover the document. Sorry. Gah. I hope you guys would appreciate it still, I think it's not as good compared to the first version I wrote. Damn. I cried over it. Sorry, I hope I still got the chapter right. Damn –pulls out hair- I got so frustrated. Sorry.

Gah. Sorry for my violent reaction, but I worked for like 6 hours and it all went to waste, Ehehe. I should save more often –cries-. Sorry. Well, anyway, I still hope you'll like it.

Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. :)

I do hope you guys will like this chapter, I sort of enjoyed it. XD

Here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter IX: Rainy Day Umbrella**_

It was around 8.10 in the morning, the rooms, halls and corridors in the school were filling up. Classes were about to start soon.

As Aerith and Zack entered classroom 4-R, a surprise scene greeted them.

No it wasn't porn. No it wasn't a huge chocobo. No it wasn't a fairy God mother. No it wasn't loads of food; it was Cloud and Tifa, sitting on both of their chairs. Quietly. No interaction. None at all. Cloud was looking outside the window; he seemed bored yet as irritated as ever. Tifa, on the other hand, faced forward, her eyes were closed. She looked like she was trying to control herself from punching the living daylights off someone.

They were fighting again, this time, with higher intensity.

The two, Zack and Aerith, ended up looking at each other. What got into the new girl and spike-head? Yesterday, they were getting along so well. And though it was usual for them to argue and ignore each other, today seemed to be, well, uhm, more brutal. You can feel the irritation vibes radiating, plus, the bolts of lightning were larger and sparkier, than usual.

The angry pair focused their eyes on Zack and Aerith when they noticed their two surprised friends looking at them.

Zack looking at Cloud

Aerith looking at Tifa

"What seems to be the matter here?" Zack asked with a bit of confusion. Talk about mood swings. Yesterday they were like Coffee and Cream, today, they were like Coke and Pepsi. Okay, stupid comparison, but yea, they were pretty much like that.

Tifa glared at Zack, his question was like a phrase of death.

Cloud looked like he wanted to put him under the grave right then and there. He pursed his lips making look as if he was preventing himself from raining down cuss words on Zack.

"Sheesh. I was just asking a question. You two love birds need to cool down." He intended it to be a joke, but neither Cloud nor Tifa was in the frame of mind for that.

Cloud had enough; he threw his notebook at his innocent best friend.

"Crap!" Zack used his arm to prevent the flying object from hitting his face. Usually, he'd be amused at the two's clowning around but this was getting to his nerves already, they were acting too childish. "Dammit Cloud!" He grabbed the notebook and threw it back. With his patience running low, he turned his back and made his way grumpily to his seat.

Aerith was quite disappointed, what was the matter with the three of them. They're handling things as if they were ten years old. She simply sighed; this wasn't going to ruin her morning. She just shook her head and same as Zack she turned back and made her way to her own seat.

Unfortunately, when the little "scene" happened there were already a bunch of students in the room. Luckily some didn't mind, but you can never prevent the hearsays. Cloud, Zack and Aerith had always been popular icons in the school. Aerith was well respected as you guys may have figured. Her positions in the school clubs, looks and disposition make her the girl to be. Cloud and Zack, well, they were infamous, but nevertheless respected. And of course they were admired by fan girls as well as…erm… fan boys.

Midgar High wouldn't be Midgar High without them.

The other kids thought Tifa would be a good figure to put in the picture. Hot new girls were always good character to put in the mix. Some thought otherwise though, but you can never argue against the fact that she did spice up "Cloud's chronicle". She was the only person yet who didn't surrender to Cloud. She was definitely not your average girl, unlike the hoards of screaming fan girls or the swarms of submissive helpless female teenagers in the school, Tifa had what it takes to bicker and not give in to Cloud Strife.

Not everyone's reactions were the same though; some admired her, some got irritated, some got curious, some speculated they'd later on get hooked up, some thought the war would get bigger…etcetera etcetera.

Gossip scattered around the school, especially around the pools students in the lower levels. Freshmen and sophomores were always indulgent with accounts from the upper class men.

For the past few days eyes of those "concerned" had been on Cloud and Tifa. Let's be realistic, they weren't Hollywood stars who everyone talked about, but nevertheless, just like your average high school prospect, you can't avoid groups of people from actually observing and talking about other groups of people, particularly popular ones.

Hn. It's a sickness that reigns in every school.

---

Three periods have already passed and though Cloud and Tifa found themselves sitting together in those classes, no interactions have been made.

Nothing Zack nor Aerith said could make any difference. Nothing cooled them down.

I highly doubt that anyone could change what Cloud and Tifa felt after what happened yesterday, well, at least not just yet.

Cloud was still upset about Tifa being his Hime and Tifa was still upset that Cloud was still upset about her being his Hime.

---

Luckily by lunch break, Zack's earlier loss of temper had already chilled off.

He basically turned into the dude Tifa spoke to. He had always been somewhat closer to Tifa; the guy was like big brother Zack. Tifa and Zack had always talked more often than Tifa and Cloud did, but there was still something different when it was Chocobo-boy and Hime who were together.

While on their way to the cafeteria, Tifa told Zack the partial story and reasons of why she and Cloud were in war again.

Now he understands.

"So you're that girl" Zack said inaudibly as the two walked to the canteen. Their arrangements were different now, well, for today that is. Normally, it was Zack and Aerith who were together and Tifa and Cloud, but today, it was Zack and Tifa leading the way and Cloud and Aerith following not so close behind.

"I'm that girl?" Tifa asked in a slightly confused tone, somehow she understood and heard her companion's weak voice. What the hell was Zack saying?

"Nothing nothing, look, I know where Cloud's coming from" Tifa rolled her eyes, how could this guy side with him? Strife was obviously being an ass.

"Hn, don't worry." He stated again.

"I'm not worrying. I actually want to wring his neck" Zack smirked upon her declaration; he was becoming overly amused again.

Zack wasn't the only one getting information. Aerith too acted as a confidant to Cloud. You see, Zack had always been the closer friend to Cloud, Aerith couldn't compete against that, but somehow the blond always felt that it was easier to tell her about these things.

"Cloud you still have a lot to learn" That's all she had said after hearing her friend's very rough and vague narration.

---

Zack and Tifa were the first to enter the cafeteria; Cloud and Aerith followed behind. There were only a few students left in the dining hall, it was around 12.30 by the time they got there, most of the students have already eaten, but due to their class schedule, the four were late for the 12 o'clock lunchtime mark.

It was the same routine; Zack got Aerith her food while she sat down their table. Tifa made her way to the line where they go to get food. Ironically, Cloud was right behind her.

She looked over the selection of food which was right in front of her, she didn't know what she was going to eat, but soon enough, she saw a plate of burger steaks. The last plate to be exact. She flashed an evil smile. This was Cloud's favorite and since she had the advantage of being first in line, she grabbed the opportunity and took the plate.

One point for Lockheart.

Cloud glowered at Tifa as he ran his tongue through the back of his teeth in frustration. He knew that Tifa didn't like eating the canteen's burger steak. Damn her for deliberately getting the last place just to provoke him.

With his supposed to be meal taken, he was left with no choice. The dissatisfied spike-head just grabbed a plate of curry. Gross.

Both of them made their way to the table, Tifa with a triumphant smile and Cloud with a frustrated scowl.

As the four of them ate, they couldn't help but hear whispers like: "Did you notice Tifa and Cloud? They're bickering again" or "They were just fine yesterday" or "I can't believe they're fighting again."

Cloud couldn't be more but used to it, he's been one of the "talks of the town" ever since his first year. Being talked about wasn't a new thing. Tifa on the other hand was sort of uneasy. Yes, she was used to being part of the "headlines" but she hated the fact that they were making fuzz about her and Cloud's situation. Why is it such a big deal anyway? People fight all the time don't they?

---

After lunch was their last class: Chemistry.

If you look it up in Cloud and Tifa's vocabulary Chem. class also meant: Our miserable time together bickering and cussing each other as lab partners.

The certain science subject was never kind to them. It always provided chances and instances where the two, seemingly ex-best-childhood-friends, could brawl.

Sooo, as I've implied, Chemistry classes for both of them were most of the time unlucky. Today wasn't an exception.

Hojo provided them an activity which required teamwork. Something our favorite pair clearly did not have.

An hour and thirty minutes have passed and everyone was already done. Everyone except for Cloud and Tifa that is.

Why were they taking so long?

Firstly, Tifa refused Cloud's help. Secondly, Cloud would start nagging Tifa to go faster, this would cause our raven haired lady to answer back, and then there you go. They'd start squabbling. The quarrel would cool down though, but the same process would go over again. Nag. Answer back. Squabble. The loop never ends.

Thirty more minutes in.

FINALLY!

Tifa had finished writing down the last letter on their fucked up lab report. At long last it was over.

She stood up and passed the paper to their professor. Finally they were off. Both of them could make their way out of the classroom and go home.

On the way down, neither still talked.

The school was already empty, just like yeasterday; there were probably no more students. Some of the faculty members and staff must've also gone home.

They made their way to the exit and just as Tifa was going to step out of the shaded part of the main hall, the rain started pouring.

_Shit._

She stepped back and looked at Cloud who was staring seriously into the rain.

_He doesn't have an umbrella either._

Tifa liked that thought. Neither her nor Cloud won this time, but let's not forget, it was only her thought. Thirty seconds after her thread of notion, Cloud pulled out a folded umbrella out his bag.

"This is not serious" Tifa whispered to herself in frustration. Her mouth hung open as he watched him unfold the object. Whatever did she do to deserve this? Was it karma from the burger steak incident?

Damn. This has got to be her worst and unluckiest day ever.

Before stepping out the rain, Cloud gave Tifa a teasing gaze. "See you _Hime" _With that, he walked out not ever looking back again.

_Gah. Damn him!_

The raven haired girl put her hands to her face. She let out a silent scream she was so frustrated. The powers of the Lifestream must've been conspiring against her.

But what's this?

She slowly took her hands off her face as she heard footsteps through the puddles. As she raised her head she saw a figure coming closer.

_Cloud._

Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?

Tifa's heart ran fast. Her face was slowly becoming hot.

He was coming back for her wasn't he?

She froze as Cloud finally stepped in the shaded part where Tifa stood.

She was anticipating his actions.

He didn't do anything, to her; he went right beside her and bent to the ground.

Tifa watched him in somewhat disappointment. What was he doing?

_Got you Lockheart._

Tifa's eyes widened. Instead of her face becoming warm it was now growing cold.

That fuzzy hopeful feeling was slowly becoming replaced with a negative emotion. A negative emotion I would like to describe as rage.

It seems that Cloud didn't go back for her after all. He simply dropped his wallet.

Damn. That's it, she was furious. She knew Cloud purposely did that to mess with her. He wouldn't go back for something as unimportant for him as his wallet.

Having the umbrella wasn't enough. No, Cloud never gets contented with those simple musings. If he wants to get back at someone, he definitely finds a way to stretch their annoyance to the limits.

He got up with a smirk. "I forgot this." He raised and showed his wallet to the staring Tifa. Again he made his way out back in the rain.

Tifa picked up a piece of stone which lay near her foot. "DIE STRIFE!" She threw angrily it at the silently chuckling and self-fulfilled teenage boy.

The frustrated young lady ran rants in her head as she watched the disappearing figure.

_How dare he do that? Jerk! Jerk! Jerk!_

She watched as the figure became smaller and smaller and smaller. It didn't take too long until she couldn't see him anymore.

She probably spent fifteen more minutes sitting in one of the benches under the shaded part in the exit before she made up her mind to simply walk out in the rain.

She had no choice. The rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon and no umbrella was magically going to pop out.

She stood up, took a deep breath, stepped out in the rain and made her way back to her house.

_Cloud Strife is an idiot!_

---

The next day, Cloud sat in his usual spot near, he was one of the firsts to go in the classroom. He looked at the door every time someone went in.

Was he actually waiting for her?

He tried not to look, but his eyes automatically shifted. At first it was just like some sort of reflex, he simply watched the door in curiosity. Would she come in or not? But later on, as the students started filling up their room, Cloud became eager to see Tifa walk in the room. He was trying to deny it but somehow he wanted to see her.

He continued watching the people go in. Reno. Priscilla. Biggs. Some blond girl. Red haired girl. Bald guy.

Still no Tifa.

Soon enough, Zack and Aerith walked in the room

"Tifa's not here yet?" Zack asked from the other side of the room. Cloud simply shook his head and pretended to look carelessly outside the window.

_Where is that moron?_

Tifa had never been this late.

Cloud started tapping his fingers on his desk.

_Where the hell is she?_

He took out his cell phone and flipped it open.

8.25. Class was about to start soon and she wasn't there yet.

Five minutes later their teacher came in. The blond looked at the seat right beside him. He couldn't help but feel guilty. If she was sick, it was his fault for not letting her go under his umbrella.

Scratched his head and put his face to his desk.

Strife was dejected.

---

It was lunch break already, still no Tifa.

Zack, Aerith and Cloud made their way to the cafeteria.

"Hey, I just texted Tifa, she replied, she said she's sick" Aerith said in a concerned tone while reading her phone.

"Sick? With what?" Zack asked.

"Colds"

That wasn't good news for Cloud. Most unquestionably not.

---

Chemistry class seemed to have lost its flavor. Cloud had no one to argue with. He spent all his time doodling caricatures of teachers in his notebook. How productive.

Well, an hour and thirty minutes is over. The class was finally done. The blue eyed teenager sloppily made his way out of the door.

Just as Cloud was about to get out of the room, "Mr. Strife." he heard Hojo call his name

"Yea?" He turned be lazily

_What's it this time?_

"Since Ms. Lockheart is not here, could you by any chance give this to her" He held out a piece of paper. It was their permission form for the field trip. Cloud forgot all about it. They've done arrangements since last week and given that Tifa was his lab partner, she was also his field trip partner. He was sort of responsible for her too.

"Sure" He held out his hands and took the piece of paper. After getting it, he made his way down the stairs, just in time. Cloud saw Aerith walking with her bag and books toward the exit. "Yo!" He called her attention.

Aerith instantly turned her head toward Cloud "Hm?" 

"Where's Zack?"

"He just picked something up from the gym" She said with her usual smile. "We thought you weren't coming home with us, so we went ahead"

"No..it's okay" Cloud said and she nodded.

Silence filled the air. It was one of those rare tongue-tied moments. He wanted to say something. Aerith simply looked at him with her eyebrows raised. She was expecting a word from him. The blond scratched the back of his head "Hey, uhmm..."

"Uhmm?"

"Uh. What do yooou..uhmm…whatdogivetosomeonewhohascolds?" He said sounding like a confused eleven year old.

At first Aerith didn't get what he was saying, but she soon got the message. A huge grin made its way to her face. She knew it. "Fruits." She said in that cheerful tone.

At first Cloud scoffed. What the heck was the smile for? But he just shrugged the irritated feeling off.

"Do you think cakes are fine?"

"Well, anything with love is fine" Zack's influence over Aerith was growing. She couldn't help but tease the cute awkward Cloud. Just like a little boy who had his first crush, Cloud ignored Aerith's statement, looked at her with a death glare and walked ahead swiftly.

Aerith watched as Cloud walked out the hallway.

_He's like a kid all over again_

"Strawberry cake would be wonderful Cloud!" She shouted across the hall making sure the spiky-head heard it.

---

Cloud found himself standing in front of a cake shop.

"This is going to be the biggest mistake of my life" Cloud said to himself as he pushed the door to make his way in the shop.

The place looked very lavish yet sweet. There were cakes and pastries decorated all around the place and the building smelled like cherries. The place had a clean light blue carpet and it had pink walls.

"My I help you sir?" An overly cute Lolita-dressed waitress asked him.

"Do you have strawberry cakes?"

---

Cloud found himself standing in front of Tifa Lockheart's house.

"Forget about the cake. THIS is the biggest mistake of my life." Cloud said to himself again as he pushed the doorbell at the side of the prolific wooden gate. He was sweating.

_Crap. What's wrong with me?_

It didn't take too long 'til a maid of about the age of fifty opened the door, her hair was already gray but nevertheless she looked healthy.

"My I help you sir?"

"Uhm. Yea. Is Tifa here?" Cloud asked, he was losing his cool. What in the name of Bahamut was wrong with him?

The maid's gaze focused on the paper bag on clothes hand. She smiled.

_What the hell is with people and their smiles?_

Cloud was getting irritated. The fucking smiles should stop.

"You're here to visit Miss Tifa?" Cloud simply nodded. "Well, follow me then young man" The old lady led him inside the house.

Nothing of the structure surprised Cloud, yea, it was big and it had all these expensive ornaments and furniture, what else is new?

The maid made him go upstairs, Cloud was somewhat thankful that Mr. Lockheart wasn't home. Their last meeting wasn't exactly a nice way to encounter someone's father.

Finally they stopped in front of this door. The old lady knocked. "Miss Lockheart someone's here to see you…"

"Who is it?" Cloud heard her runny nosed voice

"Your classmate"

Cloud thanked God she didn't say his name.

_Who could it be?_

Tifa thought it might've been Aerith.

"Oh. Okay."

"Will I let him in?"

"Yea. Sure."

The maid ushered Cloud to go in the door.

He slowly made his way to her room.

Her room still looked like before, it had the same pink striped walls, it had the same white dresser, the same white cabinet, the same white bed and the same fluffy carpet.

The blond looked over to the left and found a very sick looking Tifa Lockheart.

Her eyes had purplish rings around it. Her nose was red and she was somewhat pale. Comforters and blankets were wrapped around her. She was wearing nothing but a plain turquoise spaghetti strap.

Tifa stared at him. He stared right back.

Damn. He shouldn't have come. Cloud knew right there that he shouldn't have come. Now he was growing weak again.

_You're angry at her remember?_

"What are you doing here?" Tifa asked coldly.

"Hojo wanted you to have this" He handed her the piece of paper. She got it and scanned through the letter. "And this is for being the first girl to ever tell me to actually die" Cloud threw the paper bag to the bed. "Congratulations" He said sarcastically.

Tifa opened the bag and she saw a small cup-sized strawberry cake. It was pretty, it looked delicious. There were strawberries around the edges and the white swirled icing in the middle looked so frothy.

As much as Tifa wanted to glomp him for the gift, she had pride that she wanted to mentain. "I don't want it."

"Fine" Cloud sat down her bed and got the piece of cake. He opened the transparent container and started using the fork to eat it.

_What the hell is he doing_?! 

"Moron!" She threw a pillow at him.

"Ow!" Cloud thought his brain got deranged from the impact of the pillow. Tifa should join the football team. "What?!" He said with an angry frown. "You said you didn't want it"

"I changed my mind" Pride. Damn. She could never hold it whenever Cloud was there. She felt like a loser.

Weak.

Cloud couldn't help but smile a little bit as he handed the cake to her.

Tifa took a few bites and then put it on the night stand. She didn't want to finish it right away. It was too delicious to finish in one sitting.

"Is that all you came here for Cloud?" She asked emotionlessly. It was back to war time.

"Yea." He stood up pretending that he wanted to leave. Tifa watched Cloud as he walked to the door. It surprised her to see him stop by the door though. She expected him to storm right out, his duties were done.

From the door, the blond took a few steps backward; he got a small wallet sized notebook from his bag.

Without looking at Tifa, he handed it to her. "I copied the homework we needed to do" He said. Still not looking. His gaze was fixed on the door; he didn't want to show any signs of care. Hn. Cloud was good at that, pretending not to care.

Tifa was stunned. She felt it again; it was that warm feeling building up in her face again. She knew Cloud never wrote anything down in school, but here he is, giving her his notebook. He copied the assignments, just for her.

Neither admits. In fact, they try to show otherwise, but they were weak when it came to each other. Both of them.

---

**Ch0knaT: **Ahaha. I hope you guys liked it. XD

Weee. I thought Cloud was sooo sweet with the notes and everything. :3

Well, thanks for the reviews. :). I hope you guys continue reading. –Hands out cookies-

Please do review. I really appreciate them. It's what keeps me going. Criticisms are always welcome. ;)

There may be typos and grammatical errors, sorry for that, I'm sleepy again. Huhu. Just tell me if there are, I'll correct them.


	10. Field Trip

**Ch0knat: **Waw. Sorry for the late update, but here's the chapter that was supposed to be due last week. Anyway, I'll be posting two chappies tonight EDIT: I finally decided to merge. Sorry for the indecisiveness. Gah!. I hope it turns out well though. I had a hard time with these two chapters. Seriously. –dies-

Anyway, Thanks soooo much for the wonderful reviews. :) –hands out cookies-

I'm kind of hyped up, yet nervous about this chappie. It's a prelude to the super chapter. Haha.

Well, here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter X: Field Trip**_

It's already been almost a week since Cloud had visited the Lockheart's manor. Sad thing though, the cake incident didn't make a difference at all, they were still acting like they were mad at each other. Well, at least the bickering has ended. Although the heat was cooling down, right now, their communication was zero; they don't even eat together anymore. Their interactions composed of nothing but stares. Cloud would look at Tifa when she's not looking. Tifa would look at Cloud when he's not looking. Cloud would pretend to not be looking when Tifa glances back. Tifa would pretend to not be looking when Cloud glances back.

--

Cloud sat on his normal window seat as he watched Zack and Tifa talking in the front row. She was giggling and smiling all the time and I bet Zack loved it.

Damn. They're getting too close, Cloud thought.

The blond had convinced himself that he wasn't envious; he just doesn't like the fact the Tifa was spending too much time with his best friend. Plus, too many boys were surrounding her. Irritating. She's overrated.

"You know, ever since you and Tifa went on with the whole indifference thing, boys started...well, flirting." Aerith slumped down the chair beside him; she was looking at Zack and Tifa and the few boys surrounding them. "I guess, they really thought you two were together, now that they know you're not, they're taking the next step" She looked at Cloud who still sat with his chin resting at his palm. He didn't reply. He just kept staring at the crowd.

"If you're jealous, you can just talk to her, I bet-"

"Not jealous Aerith" He said monotonously, as he finally stopped staring at the group of people, he looked out the window.

"If you say so" Aerith was about to stand up…

"Hey" He said silently

"Mmm?" She looked back at him with eyebrows raised.

"Does, Zack…by any chance…"

"Like Tifa?"

The blond nodded. Aerith looked down then smiled at him.

"What do you think Cloud?" She wrinkled her nose playfully as if teasing him and with that she walked away and went back to her seat. The curious boy found himself staring back at them again.

_Shit._

Zack and Tifa had been spending a lot of time together. Always laughing, always smiling. To be honest, Cloud didn't know what to make out with their actions. What's up with those two? Well, one thing's for sure though, whatever's going on between them, he didn't like. Nor did he like the fact that several different lads come talk to her during breaks. He doesn't know why, but it completely irked his ass off.

You could tell that Tifa didn't like all the attention from the hormone enraged teen boys either. Some of them were just overly arrogant, it was pissing her off. Maybe that was the reason she spent so much time with Zack, he was like this bubble of protection from the preying animals.

--

3.25.

Cloud watched the round silver clock's second hand move around. He couldn't take it anymore. He hated last subjects, they were the ones which left him impatient to get out of the school.

He looked over to Tifa who looked equally bored. They're field trip was already tomorrow, he had to talk to her; they made no arrangements whatsoever yet. Man, he was itching to talk to her and the field trip was a lovely excuse.

His feelings were confusing. Now he likes her. Later he doesn't.

"Tif-" He finally let his pride down and tried to open a conversation, but a soon as he said the first syllable, the bell rang. Why is wrong timing such a pain in the ass?

The male scratched the back of his head. Well, that was another moment ruiner. Instead of trying to talk to her again, Cloud stupidly dwelled on the unfortunate "event", that he didn't notice Tifa leaving.

Once he did notice though, he hurriedly got his bag and went after her.

Cloud walked in a fast pace hoping that Tifa still hadn't made it down to the first floor, it was harder to look for her down there. He walking swiftly took a left turn in one of the hallways, and what a wonderful sight greeted him.

Zack and Tifa, they were having a conversation enjoyably, AGAIN.

Cloud took a deep sigh. Suddenly he didn't feel like talking to her anymore. He turned his around and started moving away, bad luck again though: Tifa immediately caught sight of him.

"Cloud!" She called him. That caused the blond to stop his tracks as the raven haired girl started walking toward him.

He turned back and saw her give a goodbye wave to his best friend before facing him.

_Oh great Tifa, so now we're playing innocent_

"Hey" Tifa smiled at him. It felt kind of good, that they're having a conversation.

"Yea?"

"Well, the field trip's tomorrow…" She said in a sort of hanging tone expecting Cloud to initiate something.

"Yea, I was actually looking for you" He scratched the top of his nose.

She just nodded, still expecting more words from Cloud.

_Damn, what else does she want?_

He was getting pissed. Why was she acing so cool? Maybe she's over what happened.

Damn, she's good.

Instead of arguing again, Cloud's good side took over and he just carried on with the conversation.

"So, you don't know how to get to the meeting place huh?" spike-head read what was on her mind, he assumed this since she was just new around Midgar.

"Yea and I definitely don't want the driver to take me there."

Puppy Dog eyes.

Pathetic, but Cloud enjoyed.

"So, you want me to fetch you?" He said effectively hiding the small tingly feeling of rejoice.

"More or less" She bit her bottom lip; she was expecting a 'no' from Cloud.

"No"

"No problem. Meet you in front of your house at around 6.30 in the morning?" The trip was a long way; they were required to leave early.

"Uhm. How 'bout in the park by your place instead?" Tifa said as they subconsciously started walking.

"Dad's still mad at me?" He said emotionlessly without looking at her.

"Well, pretty much, he told me not to go near you" She shrugged it off. "He's a big pain in the ass, it's not like he can stop me"

Suddenly things were back to normal. For now.

Cloud smirked, that was nice news, I mean, she's dissing her father to talk to him. Hell yea!

--

Cloud found himself playing with his cellphone as he made his way up to the floor of his room. He walked towards the door, while still playing with the phone. He finally stopped when the lights automatically turned on after he opened the door. He scanned the room. Clean as usual. He looked at the couch to find an orange duffle bag; Lilen had fixed the stuff he had to bring, like she always does.

Already having eaten his dinner, he went straight to his room. He threw himself to his bed and stared at the huge window. Tifa was filling his mind again. The fact that she was his Hime was sinking in now. Thinking about it felt lighter. Sure he was upset at first, after all, according to him, she did ruin his childhood, but nevertheless they became good friends. Slowly he was absorbing the everything, plus, a lot more things about Tifa filled his mind other than the childhood issue. The other boys, even Zack, were totally infuriating him.

_Hn._

_**Beeeeeeep!**_

Cloud bolted up the bed as he heard a large screeching sound of a vehicle outside. Hn. Someone from the slums must've gotten robbed again. Damn, he fell asleep thinking, he didn't even get to change his clothes. Thank God for the truck that was recklessly driving, if it wasn't for that he might've slept 'til the afternoon.

The blond looked at his clock.

6.15.

Crap.

He was supposed to meet Tifa at 6.30. He swiftly got up, went to the bathroom and hurriedly fixed himself.

Flash!

--

Tifa sat down in one of the seats of the park while waiting for her companion. She watched her feet move around causing little dust clouds on the ground. The sun wasn't even up yet. She looked up the clouds, it had a hazy purplish color; she liked it that way. She pushed her feet to the ground so that the swing moved. She missed playing in the park.

She remembered how she and Cloud used to push each other off the swing; a smile came across her face. Then she remembered how they were now. She thought of the words he said to her not so long ago.

She didn't find herself in tears this time though.

Tifa tried to not make a big deal out of it since Zack told her it was usual for Cloud to be that way. Especially with all the drama. He was the type of person who chooses to feel mad so that he doesn't feel the pain or sadness. Somehow, Tifa was starting to understand it. He knew that Cloud hard a hard time when they were kids. She remembered the bridge incident. That. That was really tough on Cloud.

She looked down on her shoes, sort of remembering that day she broke he sandal.

"Hey." She jumped a little bit in surprise. She felt someone hold the rope of the swing. She looked up and saw that it was Cloud.

Without saying a word, Tifa got up from her swing seat. Both looked at each other and nodded and they made their way _peacefully_ to the bus station.

For the first time in days they were acting the same way they did in the carnival when they ditched their parents. What a break to finally see them "friends" again.

Everything was going out fine that morning, they cooled down but just as they reached the bus station, Tifa spotted Zack. And guess what? She ran to him.

_What the fuck?_

Okay. Now it's back to zero, Cloud's nerves are rattling again.

Cloud, unlike everybody else spent the remaining minutes of the time allotted for assembly in the bus. The air con wasn't on yet, but whatever, he didn't want to mingle with everyone else. He most certainly didn't want to go outside. So there, it was emo mode. He sat down, closed his eyes and listened to his mp3. He was feeling sick, mainly bacuase of Tifa.

--

Cloud fluttered his eyes when he felt someone moving beside him.

"Ah shit, I fell asleep again" he scratched the back of his head and looked to his left, it was Tifa. He felt calmed, kind of. Thank Gods she followed the seat plan and didn't go beside Zack or something.

"Oh, hey, you're awake."

"Where are we?" Ignoring what she said, Cloud sat up looking out the window. He was still kind of mad. You can tell from his voice.

"Well, about ten feet away from the bus station" She couldn't hide the little laugh.

"Ha-ha" He said sarcastically.

Okay. So she figured it wasn't happy mode for Cloud. She just sat down quietly. What an amazing demonstration of self-control. Everyone should bow down to Tifa.

This is going to be a long bus ride.

The bus was headed for Junon, the class is going to stay there for one night. If I remember it right, Hojo said, they'd be there to go scavenge through the old buildings and collect some samples of rare specimen pieces they have to examine.

--

"How's your mom?" Wow. Cloud is starting a conversation. Gah. They were halfway through; maybe even the stone cold Cloudy boy couldn't take the boredom.

"Hmm?" She turned to him; she didn't quite catch what he said since she never really expected to hear a word from him.

"Your mom? How is she?"

"Well she's-"

"Hey! Do you guys want anything?" A red haired boy made his way to the path in front of Tifa's chair.

Well, conversation over.

The raven haired girl turned her head to Reno.

"No thank you Reno" She smiled. Cloud on the other hand was mouthing the red-head all the different kinds of cuss words. His hands were flying around signaling him to move his butt out.

The moment destroyer kept talking to Tifa. But he would glance at Cloud who was losing his patience. I don't think he understands. How dense.

"Get out buddy" the blond was mouthing. His face looked helpless; this guy wasn't getting a clue. Reno raised his eyebrows trying to decipher what the blond was saying; this made Tifa finally look back at Cloud too. Once she turned her head, his facial expression changed into an uneasy smile.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"Nothing" Cloud said plainly, while in the background, Zack, who had been watching, came out of nowhere and tackled Reno so that he wouldn't get in their way. He knew his romantically challenged best friend needed help. Cloud owed him for this one.

_**Thump!**_

That caused Tifa to change her attention again. She looked to where the sound was coming from. "Where did Reno go?" Zack had already shoved him to the side of the chairs at the back before Tifa caught them.

Nice one.

"I don't know" The blond simply shrugged. "Here, have a gummy bear" He grabbed her hand and took one out of his pocket. Tifa cluelessly opened the small pack. She cannot get anymore weirded out. He was mad at her again, but what the hell is it about this time? And what's with the gummy? With all the mood swings, it makes me think that maybe Cloud has more touch to the feminine side than Tifa.

Anyway, that scene was random.

But it sweet, ne?

Cloud should fix his possessiveness issues.

--

Finally, after two hours of travel, they reached a popular rest area in the South of Junon: Healin Lodge. Tifa had only been there once when she went on a vacation in Costa del Sol, they had to stop there for a night since the trip was too long. Cloud on the other hand couldn't count how many times he'd been there. It is the second largest city, therefore, you can find lots of fun there, plus, Costa del Sol happens to be his favorite vacation spot and Junon had the ships to get there.

Once they got down, the cabin assignments were handed out to them. There were two partners per cabin, so four in one for short. Regardless of the sex, lab partners were made to stay together in one compartment, they were provided two rooms per lodge though, and it separated girls from boys. But still. It was stupid to put teenagers in one house. Those shitty Midgar High policies should be changed, but anyway, more Cloti moments I guess. Haha.

They were given one and a half hours to settle down in their cabins. They were, once again lavish. There was fridge in each room with food and the rooms were cool and well decorated.

After settling in and fixing themselves, everyone was called to the main hall for a briefing, right after they headed to this abandoned lab.

The place was kind of freaky, it used to be one of the biggest establishments in Gaia, but since terrorist attacks and poor management crossed paths with it, it started deteriorating and eventually the facilities and workers, well, just stopped. Now the white walls were turning grey. The windows were dusty and cracks and rubble could be found everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if the found a dead body in there.

The huge group of students found themselves whispering, they have heard lots of rumors about the place. The sensible people though like Aerith, Zack and Cloud shrugged it all off. Those people were delusional. Tifa wasn't used to it though, since she was new to the school. She was new to Midgar, so it was excusable if fear went through her system.

"Okay kids. I'll give you up to 5.30 in the afternoon to collect specimen, each one of you have the copy of what you should find…so disperse!" Those were Hojos last words. After that the students started moving to different direction.

Cloud scanned the list

_Pheonix down_

_3 Fire Materia_

_1 White materia_

_4 ml of Mako_

Surprisingly, Cloud knew where to find these things, I don't know why but Cloud seems to be very familiar with such.

"Cloud, why don't we go with Zack's team?" She was kind of nervous; they were the only ones taking that path.

"No." He was stern. Plus, why should she be around with those other people?

"What? What if we get lost?" She's starting a mess around again. She forgot Cloud was in a bad mood.

"I know where to go." Cloud took her hand and both of them made their way deeper into the building.

"Are you sure?"

"Don't you trust me?"

"I do, but are you really sure"

_Hn. You tell me you trust me, but then you start questioning me_

"Yea." He was doing his best to keep his stature.

They walked the dark corridors.

A few turns here

A few entrances there

They traveled around several building and went through several floors. Eventually, the checklist checks were increasing.

They've already found most of the things, but Tifa was really anxious to get back. Both of their tempers were rising up and both were getting impatient. Neither wanted to spend their afternoon like this. It was already 5 o'clock and they weren't done yet.

What if it got dark?

Tifa was starting to get worried and somewhat scared. The sun was setting.

"Don't you think we should go back Cloud?"

"We're not yet done"

"Well, if only we went with Zack and the other-."

Not Zack again. Damn. She shouldn't have said that.

"Tifa, can you shut up first."

_Zack Zack Zack Zack Zack Zack. Can't she think of anything else but Zack? Christ._ _She's been with him the whole week for God's sake!_

Cloud's had enough.

She's had enough too.

_JERK!_

All the self control evaporated.

"What's your problem?" Tifa raised her voice.

"Why don't you ask Zack?" Sarcasm. Yey.

Here we go again.

"Maybe I will!"

Childish.

"GO!"

"FINE!"

"AGH! I wish I had a different partner Strife!"

"WHO ZACK!"

"You're being abnoxious!"

"You are too! Apparently you haven't changed you runny nosed hime!"

She couldn't believe this. She wanted to kick him on the balls right then and there.

"Fine damn you, you shitty sick son of a bitch low life ass-hat bastard who has a crappy fucked up rice grain sized brain that doesn't even function properly!"

THAT WAS THE BOMB.

She blurted it out in front of his face then she started pacing away from him. Suddenly her fear of the huge creepy buildings dissolved. She wasn't thinking anymore, she just wanted to get away from him. About 30 feet away she turned back to shout at him once more "PRICK!"

Cloud was left speechless, that was it, the frustration meter broke. Both of theres. Okay, so she has changed. She's not _that_ runny nosed Hime. She was now fierce runny nosed Hime. That was the longest stream of cuss words he's heard in his entire life.

Instead of going after her though, Cloud was so frustrated that he left her and he decided to just go back to the cabin.

_Suite yourself Lockheart!_

--

Cloud opened the door to the cabin only to find a Zack who was reading a magazine in the couch. He shut the door roughly and rolled his eyes, he didn't want to see Zack's face right now.

"Well, how'd it go buddy?" The clueless raven haired teenager asked. Cloud didn't answer, he didn't even bother looking. He just continued walking to his room. Zack knew there was something wrong.

He stood up and as Cloud was about to turn the doorknob of his room. He spoke in a serious tone, he would usually joke around, but this was crossing the line. "Where's Tifa?"

No answer.

"Cloud?"

He just froze there. Not replying. Not moving.

"Cloud I'm talking to you!"

He was getting tired of Cloud's childishness. It seemed so irrational to him, at first it was fine, at first he could somehow understand. But now, seeing that Tifa's not there, seeing that he didn't take care of her, he's starting to get frustrated too. He thought that this was all too much. He understands that Cloud had a hard time, but this was different now.

"I don't know" Cloud said plainly. He left the doorknob and faced Zack; his eyes were different right now.

Blue became green.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Zack said raising his voice a little bit.

Gah. Anger.

Cloud didn't answer again.

"Where's Tifa?"

"Cloud?"

"Answer up!"

"I said I don't know." He said plainly again. The green-ness of his eyes was diminishing, but it goes back up right after fading. The color flowed like waves. Rise. Subside. Rise. Subside.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Zack's eyes were starting to become green too. Only his wasn't like waves, the raven haired teenager's had a sort of lightning effect, whenever the green-ness fills his eyes.

Both of them were starting to look like those characters from dragon balls, but there were no flashy lights and hair color changes. No, none of that, you can only feel different levels of energy. Their eyes too, they turn green.

So this is what happens when they get really mad.

MAD.

"I. Don't. Know." He said once more, this time with obvious frustration in his voice. What was Zack's problem anyway? He's not supposed to be mingling with his problems.

"I'm sick of this Strife, if anything happens to her-"

BOOM! Cloud lunged to his fist to his face; good thing Zack was able to dodge it though.

"If you're so worried why don't you look for her!"

_Hn, so it's not just about your childhood._

Zack smirked; he knew.

Zack dodged Cloud's first blow by he ducking down and he swung his legs to kick him and try to knock him down, apparently Cloud knew what he tried to do, he quick reflexes lead him to jump smoothly backward.

Zack stood up and went on with his stance."I'm not going after her, since she's your responsibility Cloud!" Zack said in a calmer manner, but nevertheless his blood was still boiling.

"She likes you better anyway!" He ran to Zack in another attempt to pound his face.

"CUT THE CRAP CLOUD!" He used his arm to block Cloud's incoming fist.

_Immature._

Zack's arm was locked with Cloud's fist. They were both exerting so much force that after a while, I guess the pressure got to them and they both jumped away from each other. Cloud shook his hand while Zack rubbed his arm.

"YOU CUT THE CRAP!"

Gah. Childish. It was like that fight they had in the classroom in Tifa's first day, only this time, more intense.

Aerith was right; this was their way of dealing with each other.

"AGH!" Zack ran to Cloud and kicked him right in the torso, you could hear the blonde's growl as he flew out hitting the door. Zack immediately ran to his seemingly flying comrade who was now out of the cabin.

The fight's outside now. Luckily, their cabin was in a forest like place, farther from the other cabins.

Dust clouds swirled around the blond as he fell. He was hurting all over, it was a bad fall. He stood up though, not fast, but he still managed, a few more seconds and he regained composure. When he stood up, Zack was about 20 feet way from him.

The two looked eye to eye. Green met green.

"AAAAH!" Cloud ran once more and this time he got it right. He used his right hand to hit Zack's face and when Zack guarded it with his arm, Cloud bent and used his left fist to his abdomen.

"Damn" It was Zack's turn to fly fall on the ground. His body skidded through the ground; it felt like he wouldn't stop. Painfully, he used his nails to rake the ground so that he would come to a halt. He didn't get to stand up immediately; it took him about twenty seconds to get his senses back. But just like Cloud, he got up, slowly. "You should stop hurting her Cloud" He said as he wiped some blood off his mouth.

"You should stop meddling! This is none of your business Zack!" He went to hit him again, but this time his target moved swiftly to his side, it was so fast that he didn't even see, he only felt the wind from his movement against his body. This was a good thing for Zack, it was an opportunity to take the offense and so he did he did. But even with that speed Cloud did a great job blocking.

Zack started hitting rapidly, making Cloud step back every time he block it. Everything was going so fast. "Stop" Punch. Block. "Acting" Punch. Block. "Like" Punch. Block. "A" Punch. Block. "Kid!" Zack attempted one extremely strong blow but Cloud jumped back.

It was his turn. "LET IT" Punch. Block. "GO!" Punch. Block. "JUST FUCK OFF!" Punch. Block. "I DON'T EVEN!" Punch. Block. "LIKE" Punch. Block. "LOCKHEART" Punch. Block. "DAMN IT!"

"AAAGH! STUPID SHIT! LIAR! FUCK CLOUD! USE YOUR HEAD DAMNIT!" Zack's turn again. "YOU'RE SO FUCKING DENSE!"

BINGO! Finally, Zack yelled out what's in all of our minds: Cloud the dense fucktard.

"AAAH!" Cloud attempted to jump back but Zack was to fast, if he goes of guard even just for a split second, he'd get hit. "I'M NOT A LIAR! I GAVE UP ON HER YEARS AGO!"

"HOW 'BOUT HER? WHAT SHE FEELS?" Zack retorted.

"FUCK THAT! AGH! WHY DON'T YOU JUST STOP, I'M SURE SHE'LL FALL FOR YOU EVENTUALLY ANYWAY!"

"STOP BLOCKING EVERYTHING OUT! DAMN IT CLOUD! LISTEN FIRST! I DON'T EVEN LIKE HER THAT WAY!"

"YEA RIGHT!" Cloud managed to say back.

"I SWEAR UPON SHIVA STRIFE! DON'T GET IT YOU SHRIMP?"

Cloud didn't reply. Just blocking.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHY SHE WENT TO ME THIS MORNING?"

_To flirt with you what else?_

Cloud still kept silent, he kept his thoughts to himself, he was busy blocking to talk anyway, but he could hear what Zack was saying vividly "I ASKED HER IF SHE WANTED TO STAY WITH US SINCE YOU WERE ACTING LIKE BASTARD ALL WEEK LONG"

"YOU KNOW WHAT SHE SAID? SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO BE WITH YOU, CLOUD. YOU! SHE CHOSE YOU! DAMN IT!"

Cloud's heart skipped.

That caught our dense fucktard off guard. His face changed. It seems like all the anger drained out. His eyes weren't angry anymore. His arms softened. This allowed Zack's fist to get acquainted with his face, there was no resistance. After that Zack took hold of his shirt collar and he made him lean up against a tree, his feet not touching the ground.

Zack looked at Cloud in the eye.

Green faded from Zack's eyes when he saw Cloud's. "So, before you get jealous, why don't you think of how she feels first…" With that, Zack roughly threw Cloud to the side and he walked away, not even bothering to turn back.

The green in Cloud's eyes faded away.

He sat down where he landed. Unable to speak. Unable to move.

_She said she wanted to be with you Cloud, she chose you!_

_So, before you get jealous, why don't you think of how she feels first…_

--

**Ch0knaT:**OOOOH. Are you intrigued why they're eyes are mako induced? And where'd they learn to fight like that? Ahihi. Plus, whatever happened to Tifa? Tsk. Cloud shouldn't have been jealous.

Okay , there, I told some of you guys that the tables will start turning. I hope you liked it. Gah. Risky chapter. I hope I didn't butcher it too much.

Ei. Healin isn't in Junon right? Forgive me for the inaccuracies. –cries-

I seriously had a hard time making this. This chappie is the hardest so far. Sorry again for being indecisive. I've been thinking about how to pace things since last week. I was thinking of merging the two chaps but it just didn't feel right..so i posted two..but then i didn't like how it was cut and how short the chappies were. Gah. Sorry. I couldn't find the right things to write, and I tried updating during the weekdays but I just couldn't there was so much school work. Sorry for the late update. I hope you still like it though, it's kind of weird and action-y, but please do read and/or wait for the next chappie.

Shit. I think the fic is getting crappy because I can't execute the chappies well. TT

They should shoot me for writing fight scenes. It's sooo stupid. Haha!

Sorry if there are any gramatic and typo errors –stabs self- SLEEEEPY. M-mmm—ust--up—date…

Please read and review. Every review you send adds a boost of motivation to my system. Plus it helps me not get sleepy. XDDD


	11. Oh well

My Runny Nosed Hime

**Ch0knat: **Oh, I'm so sorry that I didn't get to update sooner. Gah. This is the longest time that I didn't update. School was just hell, anyway, I won't have anymore classes, so I'll probably be updating more often. Everyday if not every other day or every other other day. XD

Plus, I'm also starting on this other fic, I might update it alternately with this one. Don't worry though, nothing with change with this fic, I'll still give it the same attention I did even without the new one. But I'm not yet 100 sure if it's going to push through

Anyway, thanks so much for the reviews, they're highly appreciated. I lab all of you guys. Thanks again. :)

Well

Here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter XI: Oh Well**_

_Damn it Cloud!_

The frustrated raven haired girl made her way down the creepy dark halls of the abandoned lab. Yea, she's been circling the place for such a long time. Thank goodness her irritation was overwhelming her feelings, because I bet that if her thoughts weren't preoccupied, even a tenacious girl like her would be scared in such place.

Come on, the area was empty, it was dark, plus she didn't know the way.

She's alone. Helpless.

She walked the halls searching for the exit.

And some light.

Gah. There was nothing in the sorry excuse for a lab.

There were just so many of possibilities that bad things could happen to her that she couldn't afford letting her guard down.

"Aaah!" She screamed as a mouse went across her. Damn. It was so freaky.

She couldn't help but hate the things popping out of nowhere; even the slightest breeze could make her jump up in surprise.

Okay, so this time, the angry thoughts weren't dominating. Suddenly she felt pangs of regret of ever leaving her hot headed partner.

_Where the heck am I? Why am I here. Damn it!_

She took a turn in one of the junctions and found herself in yet another dead end. She sighed as she turned back to try another path. Every thing looked the same. It was like a fucking maze.

As she made her way out of the hall she noticed a crack on one of the sides of the pole holding the ceiling -which was right on top of her- together. She didn't know why she was staring at it. But there she was, frozen, sort of anticipating for something to happen. The crack looked dangerously frail. Five seconds into fixing her eyes on it, it wiggled a bit and the whole thing just started to crumble.

_Shoot._

She ducked and ran to the side and ended up sitting against the wall. "Eeeek!" She squeezed her eyes close and covered her head as piles of cement fell and dust swirled around.

Damn. This place was the last thing from safe.

--

_So, before you get jealous, why don't you think of how she feels first…_

Cloud still sat in that same position where Zack left him. Apparently the words his best friend left him with, pierced him. The fact that he left the girl he loved to fend off alone in that dark creepy place added to the sickening feel in the stomach too.

The blond grabbed a stone and threw it. He was just so frustrated with himself right now.

"Fuck!" He dropped his back to the ground, now he was lying down. He looked up the lavender sky. If anything happened to Tifa he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

"_Fine damn you, you shitty sick son of a bitch low life ass-hat bastard who has a crappy fucked up rice grain sized brain that doesn't even function properly!"_

"_CUT THE CRAP CLOUD!"_

"_STOP BLOCKING EVERYTHING OUT! DAMN IT CLOUD! LISTEN FIRST! I DON'T EVEN LIKE HER THAT WAY!"_

"_STOP BLOCKING EVERYTHING OUT! DAMN IT CLOUD! LISTEN FIRST! I DON'T EVEN LIKE HER THAT WAY!"_

"_So, before you get jealous, why don't you think of how she feels first…"_

"Agh!" Cloud used his left elbow to cover his eyes. Damn. He messed up big time. Cloud used his right fist to pound the soil.

"FUCK!"

--

Zack sat on the edge of his bed. His eyes were closed. He was still annoyed. God. Cloud is such a pain.

He clenched he eyes ran his hands down his spiky, now unruly, hair, then later on clasped it; he didn't know what to do anymore.

He was trying to collect his thoughts.

The stream of pondering stopped and Zack's head bolted up as he heard the door open. He turned to the opening.

It was Cloud.

"Help me find her. Please"

--

Tifa made her way though the building, she tried tracing back her steps, but instead of going to where she started, it seems like she got farther off.

The buildings were huge; the halls lead her from one annex to another. Finding a way out was just impossible.

She later on found herself in passage which lead to a sort of "clean" place. It looked newer than the other ruin like areas she passed by. Aside from the cob webs, grime and cracks, it still looked usable. It was just empty though. It looked like a lab; you can still see the whiteness of the walls, tools were there too.

She knew this was the wrong path but something lured her in. She walked slowly and observed the space. Broken light bulbs, cracked tiles…rusty metal doors.

She felt horrible. This was a facility which belonged to the ShinRa Corporation, the same people who took her mom years ago.

_A little girl was lying in her bed, her mother right beside her. Her long black hair shined as the moons rays reflected from it. She was smiling as her mom caressed her hair._

"_You should go to sleep now, dear"_

"_Only if you stay beside me!" She said in a cheery tone, scooting a little bit so that her mother could lie down beside her._

"_Sure" the older female lied down and the little girl hugged her. Suddenly the little girl's expression changed. As if remembering something horrible._

"_Mommy, I heard Mr. Pete talking about you earlier today. He said those soldiers were going to take you away" She looked up to her mom with tearful eyes._

"_I'm not going to leave you, you know that" Her mom kissed her forehead trying to reassure her, but you could note the doubt in her voice._

"_Hehe" She cheered up, she trusted her mother's words "And Mom, you know, that's why Chokobo-kun would go off to Soldier! So that no family would have to split up! And he said that he'd save me whenever I'm in a pinch" She said proudly._

"_I'm sure your friend would do a great job" Her mother smiled at her antics "Those two will have get married someday" She whispered to herself._

"_Huh?_

"_Nothing, Chokobo-kung would be the best, ne?"_

"_Boy he will!"_

"_Okay okay." Her mother smiled and kissed her again "Why don't we sleep now?"_

Tifa shook her head. She didn't want to remember those things. The raven hair girl walked to one of the rooms. It looked like a prison cell, only a bit cleaner, but the space was confined and there was nothing but a high window as a source of sunlight. She imagined what could've happened here. And worse, she imagined how her mom was.

_The little girl shifted her position as she tried to find that warm body beside her._

"_Mmm..Mommy?" _

_No reply._

"_Mom?"_

_Once she realized that her mom was no longer there, she got up immediately and went out the door, but just as she did, their maid grabbed her and stopped her, she also covered her mouth so that she couldn't talk._

"_Tifa, sshhh..Please" There was panic in her voice "You will get in a lot of trouble if you try anything"_

_The little girl's tears flowed as the maid took her back to her room. Once the maid let go of Tifa, she immediately looked out the huge window in her room. Outside she saw an ambulance like vehicle. A few scary men were escorting her mom to it. Her mother was crying she could tell._

_Tifa couldn't understand back then. Why were they doing this to her mom?_

_Tears streaked down her cheeks. She was powerless. Vulnerable._

Tifa wiped a teardrop as she remembered those events from her childhood. Though it was a long time ago she couldn't help but still fear that time. Those moments still remain the most painful.

She jerked as she heard the door behind her close.

"Damn" she whispered to herself as she ran to the door trying to open it.

It was stuck.

She was stuck.

--

Cloud found himself urgently running around the ruins, calling out Tifa's name. She could be anywhere. The place was huge.

"Tifa. Come on, where are you?" He breathed out. Feeling a little hopeless.

"TIFA!" Damn. Where is she? He took turns and went in all sorts of passages. Running here. Looking around there.

It didn't take too long before Cloud found himself in that same lab like place Tifa was in. He figured she'd be there since it was the "safest place". Good. He was close.

--

Tifa sat against the wall with her knees to her chest, all hope of ever coming back to the lodge was diminishing. She didn't even think there would be people looking for her. Half of her was quite positive that Cloud didn't even bother to tell anyone.

What mess has she gotten herself into? She shouldn't have gone with him in the first place.

She was only trying to fix things between her and Cloud, but no. Life is cruel. She had all the good intentions but instead, her bastard partner got out while she was left here to rot.

She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Tifa!" She heard a faint voice.

No way. She was hearing things.

"Tifa!" she heard the desperate voice again.

Oh God. It was Cloud. She immediately got up and rushed to the steel door.

"Cloud!" she screamed out.

"Cloud I'm here" She shouted again.

I cannot tell you guys how happy she was in hearing the spike-head's voice.

--

"Cloud!" The blond looked around and tried to find where the voice came from.

Was it really Tifa?

"Cloud!"

"Tifa? Tifa where are you?" He turned his head trying to hear her voice again.

"I'm here you prick!" He could here the relief in her voice. She was half laughing when she called. He smirked, he knew she was joking. He was actually glad to hear her call him that.

Cloud immediately ran to where her voice was coming from.

"Tifa just keep calling!" He ordered Tifa. Her voice was becoming louder, a little more he could find exactly where she was.

"Cloud!"

Goit it!

Cloud turned left in one of the junctions and he found a shaking rusty door. She was trying to open it.

"Tifa stay calm." He tried to open the door.

"I wanna get out of here. Please. Cloud."

"I know I know. I'm doing my best." He hated hearing her like that. Shit. Her remarks felt like knives.

"Cloud please…" That pleading voice. He didn't need to hear her like that right now.

"Cloud!"

Agh.

She should just keep quiet right now. Cloud's stressing out.

The blond walked a few meters away from the door and he ran to ram it open.

"Ah!" She squealed. Yea. Perfect. Panic.

"Cloud! Don't get yourself hurt!"

_God. What's wrong with Tifa? She's overly whiny today._

Okay, so even though Cloud was becoming the hero of the day, he was still, nevertheless hot headed.

"Cloud!" She remarked once again. He just wouldn't stop ramming the door. She didn't want him to do that.

"Cloud just try another way!"

"Cloud!"

Too whiny.

"Agh! Damn it Tifa calm down. Shut up and I'll save you!" Her savior said in an irritated tone. We all know that he promised himself that he wouldn't get mad. I mean, he has learned from past experiences, but Cloud was just never really good at these things.

Well, at least he know he desperately wants to save her, I don't know though, if I should be happy with that remark. Whether it was supposed to be touching or annoying.

Well, Tifa got the latter idea.

"God Cloud! If you're going to act like that, you should've left me to rot here!" Maybe from all the stress she'd endured she couldn't take it anymore. Again, just like Cloud, she wasn't good at these things.

_She's so shrewd! _

Waw. So even in times of crisis the couple could never hold back squabbling. What a nice mix.

"You know what?! I was just trying to fix things and now I end up here" She was crying already. Oh God, overflowing overwhelming emotions are soaring sky high today. Geez, that's the last thing Cloud needed. He felt bad that she was crying though.

"And I thought you'd actually be glad to be here for me!"

Cloud's irritation meter was going up again,can't she see?

_Doesn't she understand? I am glad. I'm here to because I want to not because I need to._

He didn't bother replying. No. He was to busy with the door.

Suddenly she stopped whining and talking. He could hear nothing but sobs. Girls are just too...fragile aren't they?

Cloud gave millions, okay, not millions, but a lot of attempts to open the door. Finally he busted it open.

There, he fucking opened the freakin' door. Why was she still weeping?

He scanned the cell like place and his gaze laid on Tifa who had her knees to her chest. Her eyes were sore.

She looked up at him, they met eye to eye. A few seconds in and she brought her face back between her knees again.

Isn't she going to stop crying yet?

Somehow, all of Cloud's frustrations disappeared. He sighed, walked to her and sat down on the left of her with his right leg stretched forward and his left one bent to his chest. He looked at her for a moment then he put his elbow to his bent knee, closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.

He made her upset again. He hated it. He didn't want to speak anymore though, afraid that what he'd say would upset her further. Plus, pride was always a factor. He just waited. Waited until she calmed down.

….

….

….

….

….

….

She was still not yet done crying.

"You know..." Sniff. Tifa started talking weakly. Cloud listened with his eyes still closed.

"I'm sorry."

Cloud didn't reply. He just remained in his position.

"I'm..I'm..I'm sorry for getting you here.." She was crying more now.

Cloud opened one of his eyes and peeped at the bawling Tifa.

"I'm sorry for ruining our day.."

Sniff

"For ruining your trip"

Sniff.

"I'm sorry for ruining your childhood"

"I- I didn't mean to-" She was cut off.

Surprise!

Tifa's eyes shot wide open, she could swear her heart stopped as Cloud used his right hand and put it to her left cheek, sort of cupping it and pushed it swiftly but carefully so that her head would be leaning against his shoulder.

"You didn't ruin anything." He said plainly.

As soon as her head rested on Cloud's shoulder, here breathing became more stable, the tears stopped flowing and though Cloud said those words coldly she couldn't help but smile.

"I'm glad I didn't"

The blond tried not smiling, but he couldn't help it either.

He did something right for once.

--

Zack and Aerith sat in the couch in their cabin.

Aerith looked like she was praying on something. She was casting a spell to find the both of them.

In the table lay a piece of parchments and there were two sparkly spirit ball looking figures, they were lightly swirling around. One pink and one blue, they were beside each other.

The Cetra smiled. "He found her already."

I bet Zack could've died happy right there.

--

Cloud and Tifa still lay in that same position. Both of them looked contented, but as much as they wanted the whole sweets fest to last longer, they were here on a field trip. It was already like 8 in the evening, they had to go back.

"Tifa?"

"Mmm?"

"We have to go back" A feeling of regret filled Cloud's system when Tifa lifted here head up of his shoulder. He shouldn't have said that, they couldv'e stayed all night.

Suddenly he smirked _stayed all night_. But he brushed the thought off. Getting laid in an abandoned building was not a good idea.

He stood up and help Tifa.

"How are we going back?" Cloud grabbed her hand _roughly _ and lead her to a window.

"Through there" He said, meaning that they'd jump. It was too risky to try and walk back, since it was dark and neither knew the place very well.

"FUCK NO!"

Before Tifa could react further, Cloud carried her bridal style, and well, jumped.

Cloud surprisingly, was good at these jumping things, they landed smoothly. Not a scratch on him nor Tifa.

--

Tifa walked out of the bathroom, wearing her gray summer dress on, drying her hair. She took a bath as soon as she and Cloud got back.

"Haaa" She threw herself to the bed.

"Long day huh?" The previously hair-brushing Aerith said as she went to sit to Tifa's bed.

Tifa just nodded.

The green eyed girl couldn't help but laugh "You know, Cloud must really like you to go through all that trouble."

"Hm?...Well, he shouted at me again, while trying to open that door. And he didn't talk to me the whole time we walked back. He's still mad"

"Cloud, he just…He just hates losing, that's all"

"Tell me about it" Tifa sat up. "Where is he anyway?"

"Probably trying to cut his writst"

"What?"

"I'm kidding, he told Zack he'd be sitting out in the well."

"Well?" Tifa put a finger to her chin

--

Cloud lied down on the grass. He remembered how it was five years ago in Nibelheim. That promise. The well. Those stars. Tifa.

_No. No. I can't. Tifa's nothing. I don't love her. No._

Cloud closed his eyes.

_No, I can't afford it, it's too dangerous._

Wait. Why is it dangerous again?

There were so many things happening to Cloud Strife right now, maybe a Tifa Lockheart wasn't a good thing to mix in.

"Go away!" Cloud shouted as he felt someone coming near. He knew it was Tifa. He didn't need her right now. It makes everything more confusing.

When Tifa heard him shout, she tried walking away, but she stopped about 3 steps later.

_We both know I can't do this. I always try keeping away so it doesn't bother him..but then later on, it starts bothering me. Then I just end up going back to him everytime…Crap!_

She sighed, shook her head and walked back to him. She never listened to what he says anyway.

"I told you to leave." Tifa said nothing; she sat by his head and put it on her lap. Cloud didn't like it. No.

"Nah. I was born to disobey you." Tifa said jokingly, but the spike-head wasn't in the mood right now.

"You know what? Even from the start, you've always frustrated me." He was irritated again.

Gah. It's scary sometimes, even for Tifa. She didn't reply, she knew it was his turn to belt out what he felt. "You think of yourself too much. You've always been selfish."

He was never good with words, he wished he never started speaking in the first place, but boo hoo. He did, there's no turning back now.

"Cloud.."

"See, there you go again. Hn. You always come and go and you end up jumbling my thoughts. You keep making me change my mind!"

"You always come to me. You cling…but then it's so easy for you to walk away" His voice started to sound shaky.

Was Cloud crying?

He sat up, so now they were facing each other. "And you know what? Even behind that…behind that. I can never resist. It's frustrating. You're frustrating." Cold as usual.

"Cloud…"

"Like that day in Mt. Nibel, I shouldn't have gone with you. Everything could've been fine. ShinRa soldiers wouldn't have been mad."

"You, you wouldn't have fallen. That day on Mt. Nibel was a mistake."

Oh. God. Cloud Strife is gay. He's tearing up. Well, okay, not gay, but when was he ever Mr. Emotional?

"…I couldn't go back to the village, everyone hated me… I couldn't protect you …and now I messed up again" He looked down. His voice was still cold, Tifa would've thought he was mad if it wasn't for his moonlight reflecting tear. She couldn't believe what this rock-hearted Strife was saying.

"Damn it Lockheart, you're such a loser! What did I ever do to you why are you punishing me like this?"

All the frustrations he had since he was a child were bursting out. He never cried about this before. It was all bottled up. But here we go again. Tifa, Tifa made him weak.

The raven haired girl didn't cry this time, no. Wow. She felt guilty; he really did have the right reasons to hate her. She did ruin everything.

"Cloud, I, I'm sorry…" She looked at him, but he was still looking on the ground.

"I wish I could write everything down differently, but no matter how much I want to, we both know it's impossible"

"Cloud, just tell me, how can I make you forget?"

Cloud dropped head to her shoulders, so they were like hugging, but without the hands. She froze.

"Just ... just stay here…stay…" He said against her shoulder.

Yea. There. He said he wouldn't fall. But, oh well.

--

**Ch0knaT: **YEBA! MUSH! FLUFF! CHEESE overload.! You guys can kill me now. XD

Am I the only one who thinks crying Cloud is sexy? XD

I know that it's pretty long. But I like this chappie. It was sweet. . Alas! Solid CloTi moments. Tee hee. Don't you think that they're so cute when they fight but then it's obvious that they care? –squee-

Disclaimer: The flashback about the CloTi kid marriage thing is quoted from My Cloud. I asked permission. :)

Oooh. Anyway, poor Tifa's mom. ToT. Tifa's memories still seem to haunt her. Cloud's memories too. Tsk. They sould all just have amnesia. o:..ahaha..I'm kidding.

I hope you guys review and reply. I promise the long update wait will never happen again!

Review and read please. You guys make me soooo happy. XD

I shall offer teasers for those who reviewed. ;p


	12. Best I've Ever Had

My Runny Nosed Hime

**Ch0knaT: ** Weee. Another chappie! This is really fun, well at least for me.

Anyway, here's the twelfth chappie, I hope you guys like it. I had fun writing. Plus, thanks so much for the reviews. :) I appreciate all of it.

Here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter XII: Best I've Ever Had**_

_Two little kids were playing swords and castles in a hill. It was afternoon, the sun was shining brightly and you could hear the birds chirping from the trees. Cardboard boxes were scattered everywhere, I presume they used it as sort of props for their little game. The boxes were decorated with different bright colors, one had a drawing of a horse, and the other looked like a tower castle. _

_I guess kids do have a wild imagination. _

_The little boy, who had blond spiky hair that stretched out in all direction, just like a Chocobo's I might add, was fixing the cart they used as a carousel, then his black silky haired counterpart, out of nowhere she started crying and shouting at him like a crazy mad man on crack. _

"_I don't like you anymore! You're never going to marry me anyway!" she shouted, with tears falling from her eyes_

_Ridiculous kid. Does she even know what she's talking about? _

_The little boy was taken a back. What the heck is this? _

"_Yea, you're darn right! You're going grow old and ugly and no one, not even I will marry you!" the little boy said back, sticking his tongue out. He was about to speak again but then she ran away. _

_Talk about impulsiveness._

_At that time the spike-head decided not to follow her. Who was she to holler at him like that, anyway?!_

_Later that evening he couldn't stop thinking of what he did to her, a pang of guilt ran through his mind. So, he went to their house, she wouldn't open the door. He had to climb up the window, it was really hard though, but he'd do anything in those moments just to make sure she was alright. _

"_Hey Hime" He yelled as he jumped in her window. He saw her lying on her bed, crying in her pink pillow. Her ponytail was now messed up, her eyes were very sore and she had a red runny nose._

_The boy went near her "Hey don't cry, was kidding, I'll marry you someday" He wasn't really serious about that, I bet even the little girl wasn't…THEY WERE TEN…they didn't even know what marriage was yet._

"Fuck" Cloud murmured against the pillow as his senses slowly came back. He would've still been in a deep slumber if he didn't feel a hard object hit his leg. He just rescued Tifa yesterday darn it. Plus, he never got a long night's sleep. Can't anyone cut him some slack?

"Wake up sleeping beauty" Apparently Zack, his roommate, threw his cellphone at him. It's been beeping for the past three minutes.

Alarms never worked for Cloud Strife.

The blond didn't move. He just opened one eye to look around. He was all too drowsy to get off the bed right now.

"Wake up!" Zack made his way to the edge of his bad and kneeled down, so that his face was facing the sleeping Cloud's. His face looked bored and his eyes were droopy and bored, if he had wrinkles, Zack's face would've looked like a bulldog's. He tugged the strands of spiky blond hair, still no response from Cloud. The act may seem cute but it was pissing the drowsy teenager off, can't he just rest?

"Come on sleeping beauty, do you need a kiss to wake you up?" Cloud growled at Zack's question. He turned his head and grabbed a pillow to cover his head. He really didn't want to get up.

The blond shifted as he felt a weight leaning against him. Zack's methods of waking people up were just plain weird.

Cloud growled one more time, it was all too irritating.

Finally, he opened his eyes.

"SHIT! FUCK! SHIT! DAMN IT! SHIT! GOD!" Cloud couldn't help but rain down cuss words on his roommate for when he opened his eyes Zack's lips were the first sight that greeted him. The now awake victim pushed his hedgehog friend off him.

Well, at least the old Zack's back.

"That's just plain sick." Cloud said as he sat up, rubbed his eyes and checked his phone.

"It's not like I was really gonna kiss you ass. Plus, I bet you've had enough of that from last night." Zack said chuckling. He knew his best friend and Tifa were together whole night long, well, almost whole night long.

"What?" Cloud retorted as he put down his phone on the deck. He seemed to have had missed calls from I don't know who, but he didn't appear to care.

"Cloud, sneaking back here at around 1 o' clock in the morning isn't really a good idea, you know you're gonna get caught eventually right?" Cloud said nothing; he just stood up and threw a pillow at Zack. He threw it forcefully I might put in.

"Come on, what happened?" His eyes followed Cloud as he ignorantly went to get some clothes from his duffle bag.

"It's not like you never tell me what goes on with your girlfriends…"

Still no reply.

Cloud sighed and made his way to the bathroom. "We just… talked." He finally yet plainly said then he slammed the door shut.

--

"_Just ... just stay here…stay…" Cloud said against Tifa's shoulder._

Tifa sat in front of a desk flipping the pages of a magazine that her dad wanted her to read, but her mind was far from the pages of the publication. She was thinking of last night. She was glad it all happened. A part of her knew things were going to be different from now on.

Cloud and she had resolved problems last night. It wasn't easy, I mean, with the drama and everything, but it was well worth it.The two of them even ended up talking up to 1 o'clock in the morning. Cloud got honest with her, for years of penting things up inside, they finally spoke about the issue. At least the semi-emo craze was over.

"I've never seen that smile on you before, Tifa" The girl browsing through the magazine her hair jumped up when she heard her roommate. She was smiling? Hn. She didn't realize that she was.

"Oh, I smile like this all the time" She said scratching the back of her head. She awkwardly stood up and fixed her bed. Hopefully, the topic would shift if she did something else.

"Well?" The brown haired girl asked as a follow-up

Okay, so, fixing the bed didn't work.

"Well what?" Tifa's playing innocent

"What happened?" Aerith couldn't help but give of a little laugh as Tifa's cheeks went slightly pink.

"We just…talked."

Seriously. They just talked.

--

5.30

In the morning, everyone was back into the busses. They have collected the specimens they needed here in Junon. Kalm was next; it was actually the second to the last stop. They'd go to Kalm to collect more specimens, then after that, by tradition, they'd have a stop by the Golden Saucer just as a sort of break. It was far from the other two destinations, since it was part of the Eastern Continent, but come on, let's admit it, without the stop to the Gold Saucer only the geeks would come, and boo hoo, no funding.

Midgar High was a large money cow.

Everyone started loading themselves to the bus. Tifa made her way to their seat only to find Cloud already there. His eyes were closed and earphones were plugged to his ears.

"Hey" She said as she sat down.

"Morning" Cloud looked kind of startled but he greeted her nevertheless.

"You're still sleepy?" Tifa kind of felt guilty, well, it was sort of her fault that he didn't get enough rest.

"More of exhausted, looking for you in that hell hole was just…hell"

"Thanks again." She scratched the top of her nose trying to overcome the hot feeling running through her cheeks. Yea, she can never thank him enough.

The ride to Kalm was somewhat short; their school was granted an exclusive pass to the shortcut that's why they didn't take the normal two hour route. Cloud wished it did take longer.

Why?

Well, a few minutes in and Tifa snuggled him, it was a quite bold move, but what the hey? He enjoyed it. A part of him was telling that he should've cried in front of her a long time ago. Forget the pride, this rocks.

--

6.15.

The bus had stopped in front of a new and highly secured looking establishment. It looked just like the other ShinRa lab, with the white paint and the huge windows. The place had no trees around it too, none, Mako reactors of small sizes were planted all around the cemented location though.

The blond couldn't help but scoff at these things; he was never really a fan of Shinra. He was one of the few people who weren't ignorant enough to blindly follow the conspiracy. While most people think that all the mako business is doing well, the Lifestream was suffering.

The students made their way down the vehicle. Much to Cloud's dislike he and Tifa had to go down too.

The whole class was instructed that only one from the pair would get to go in the establishment, since over crowding wasn't healthy for the highly secured place. Cloud never had a thing for those scientific thingamajigs and he's been there more than a million times, so he let Tifa go.

Half of the class went in, basically, Tifa, Aerith and the others. While half had a break and stayed out, that's Cloud, Zack and the others.

Most of their classmates made their way to the cafeteria found along the compound, while some went to hang out near the bus parking. Cloud found himself leaning in one of the railing by the entrance of the lab.

He never really got a chance to think about what happened last night, and I guess now was that time that his mind could wander off.

What just happened anyway? It was like an indirect confession. So what's next? Gah. It's never been like this with his other girlfriends. He knew he loved her, he figured that out a long time ago. He had the balls, he was Cloud Strife, but he seemed to suck at the affection for Tifa department.

"What's with the serious face there Cloudy boy?" the blond turned his head to face the incoming Hedgehog head.

"Nothing" He turned his back away from the railings and propped his elbows so that he was leaning backwards.

"It's Lockheart?" Zack's question took a while to answer.

"I told her I wanted her to stay. I told her everything…and I want to be with her, but I don't know what to do next"

These guy to guy talks usually happen between the two but Zack had never seen Cloud this serious.

"What do you mean what next? Dude, you know what's next" He smirked.

Cloud gave one too, but shook his head afterwards. "I'm not kidding Zack"

"I'm not either" He laughed a little bit. God. Cloud was acting like such a wuss.

"Come on, I really don't know what to do." Cloud shot him a glare, smacked him on the back and then he crossed his arms.

"Ow!" Zack turned around too, so that he was leaning, just like Cloud's

This was unlikely of Chocobo-kun; he was a ladies man, why can't he handle this one?

"You love her don't you?" That was the only retort he heard from Zack.

"I do, ever since. You cannot imagine, how much. I mean, you've seen what I've been through..."

_What am I saying? Fuck all this cheese_

Zack chuckled a little bit again. His friend was losing in. But he gave a serious answer. "You love her and I think she obviously loves you, it can't be any easier than that"

Strife was once again in fact making things hard for himself.

"No, the love thing's not the problem" Cloud shook his head and looked at his shoe.

Okay. Joke time over. Zack turned to him. He couldn't see the point why Cloud was being doubtful. "Then what's the problem? Is there really one?"

"Other from the fact that it's dangerous. No, I do not see any problem." The blond said sarcastically.

"So you're afraid that she might get hurt?"

"I promised to protect her"

"And by staying away you're doing that?"

"It's not like I'm literally moving away. I mean, what would she think of me if she knew?"

"So? So what if she _knew_?"

No reply.

"That fear thing is shit Cloud. What is she to you? Extra weight? Someone to hold you back?"

The blond didn't reply again.

"If you love her like the way you say you do, you'd trust her enough; you wouldn't think she's that unreliable."

Silence.

"Tifa deserves to be someone more than the lady in distress who kisses her savior for thanks every time she gets rescued" Zack said in a firm tone.

"So you think I should…"

"Only if you love her to that level of trust."

"I do"

--

11.30 am Aerith and Tifa stepped out of the door of the building and they found Cloud and Zack laughing out in the railings. Well, I guess the serious talk was over now.

The four of them made their way to the bus and the bus made its way to the Gold Saucer. It was a lot noisier now, everyone was just chatting, there were papers flying everywhere, bags of chips were being passed around, two couples were making out, cameras were flashing. It was just chaotic.

.Jumping grandma on a stick Cloud just wanted to sleep. Why can't people ever allow that?

Cloud banged his head to the chair. He wanted to relax.

Tifa followed Cloud's head bang pursuit, but she wasn't irritated.

"You want to sleep huh?" She turned her head to him

"Yes, it's a 3 hour drive, I at least want to rest"

"Sleep"

"Can't, too noisy"

"Mp3?"

"Ran out of batteries"

"Well then, I guess you're in bad luck Cloud." The blond just turned around and tried to sleep.

Bad luck was never new to Cloud. Good thing he was so tired that eventually the noise didn't affect him.

--

2.00

The bus had arrived in front of the gates of the famous theme park. The set just looked so fun. People were walking around, music was playing, and the place was full of bright colors. To be honest, Tifa had never really went in, this was her first, and Cloud knew that very well, that's why he wanted to make this one the best.

Everyone walked out the bus and went their own ways, some went ahead to the rides, some ate first, and some went to the ticket booth.

"Cloud, don't you think Aerith and-" It was unusual that the four of them didn't go as a group.

"Zack kind of wanted some "alone time" with Aerith" _And I wanted some with you._

"Oooh. I see." Tifa had a big grin on; those two could never get cuter.

"So where'd you wanna go?"

"Eat?"

"Sure, I know this nice place where they sell burgers" Ha! Yea, just like their first date, well, if you can hardly call that one a date.

She smiled, life liked playing the history repeats itself game on them.

The burger joint could not be anymore wrong. Cloud's dream date in the certain theme park didn't seem to start off right. The clumsy waitress accidentally spilled the milkshake on Tifa, so they had to buy her clothes by the nearest souvenir. Gah. They didn't even get to finish their food.

"I'm really sorry Tifa" Cloud leaned against the walls beside the door of the dressing room where Tifa was changing her milkshake stained clothes.

"It's not you're fault" She said as she opened the door and walked out "So what do you think?" Tifa came out wearing a brown tank top which had a picture of the Gondola and matching capris with a different, darker, shade of brown.

"Fine as always" Cloud lead their way out the shop "So, you still want to eat?"

"Nah. I'm fine, the half burger would do." She let out an understanding smile.

The two of them spent the whole afternoon roaming around the park; it was alright I guess, except for the few faults.

Gah. Okay, who am I kidding? It wasn't alright. It was far from alright, at least for Cloud. Everything went wrong. Like this one time, when they went to ride that love tunnel thing, instead of having the boat to themselves, they had to share it with a gay couple who made slurping noises every ten seconds or so. Tifa found it funny, but Cloud just felt annoyed, it was supposed to be _their _ride.

The stream of bad luck doesn't end there, when Cloud tried playing one of the gun games, he got startled by this little kid who seemed to be running from his playmate, therefore he lost his balance and hit Tifa instead. It didn't hurt though, but imagine the "plausible boyfriend" meter, it must be going down.

Too many wrong things were happening and Cloud only had one chance to make the trip more memorable: The Gondola.

Both of them made their way to the ride station.

"Tifa, why don't you go ahead" She didn't know why Cloud wanted her to get in, but she followed what he said anyway.

As soon as Tifa got on the cart Cloud turned to the operator dude. "You're going to have the fireworks right?"

"Yes sir"

"Well, make it stop when we're on the highest point. It's the 11th cart okay?"

"Sure sir" Cloud handed out the bag of gil. Damn. If this didn't work out he'd jump off the Gondola. He might as well die.

"And don't forget, the fireworks have to go when we've stopped" With that Cloud got in, praying to all the Gods of Gaia that his plan would work.

"What took you?" Tifa asked as she scooted over so that Cloud could sit down.

"I just took care of something" Just when as he said that line the ride started moving.

"Oh wow it's so pretty." Boy it was, you can see everything from the top view, it was already dark by the time they rode, so you could see all the beautiful lights. The place was just amazing; it was so huge and so colorful.

Tifa gazed at the wonderful sight. Cloud on the other hand stared at her. Her eyes where shining from the reflection of lights outside. Her smile can never be more genuine. She was definitely a 'hot-new-girl'

Yea. Cloud was sure. The doubt was gone now. Seeing her there made him not want to turn back. He wanted to be with Tifa, and the other stuff would just have to regress.

"Hm, Cloud what is it?" Tifa asked when she noticed that he was staring at her.

"Nothing" They were at the highest point, the Gondola would sop any second now. So he figured it would be the perfect time to well, kiss her. He moved his face closer to hers.

"Cloud.." She said so faintly that it could've been a thought. She could feel his warm breath brush against her nose. They're eyes were more or less glued together, slowly they're faces got nearer and nearer to each other. It looked like those scenes in the movie, it couldn't be anymore perfect.

Perfect? Wait. Something's wrong.

Cloud's eyebrows scrounged up. _Why isn't the fucking thing stopping?_

Damn. Cloud's faith has been broken. He was ready to jump off the Gondola. Something just kill him now.

Just as they're lips were about to meet, Tifa backed up when he noticed the change of mood. "What's wrong Cloud?"

Gah. Who would want to kiss someone with such a sour face?

"Damn it!" Cloud retracted and kicked the little pole in the middle of the cart.

Tifa was baffled. He was so into her just a few seconds ago, and now he's acting like a primate. That was the stupidest bluff of the day. No of the week. Ah! Make that the biggest bluff of the year. She wanted to punch the daylights out of him.

"Cloud?!"

What? Did she do something wrong? Bad breath? Gah!

_Cloud is impossible!_

"Agh!"

He was getting on her nerves again. What's his problem now?

"I wanted this to be your best date. But the whole day went wrong. First the damn milkshake, then that stupid tunnel ride, then that moronic kid..now this!"

Tifa raised an eyebrow. Where was he coming from.

"Shit! I'm such a loser."

She knows it's wrong but, she's, she's amused. All her frustration reverted into some sort of delight.

"And I fucking told the lame-ass conductor to fucking stop the Godforsaken Gondola when we were in the highest point, and I told him to time the fireworks when we're up, but I don't see any signs of fucking balls of sparkling light anywhere" Cloud continued in a very very very annoyed voice. But Tifa just…laughed.

This made Cloud look at her in a worn out face. "Great, laugh at-" But he was cut off by Tifa's lips. Then there, the Godforsaken Gondola fucking stopped and the fucking balls of sparkling light busted out everywhere.

That was perfect.

After a few seconds, Tifa pulled back. The blond cursed himself for being too shocked to kiss back.

"Cloud, this is the best I've ever had…and I want more with you" The last part was more of a whisper as Cloud went to touch her lips again. It wasn't as innocent this time. No. It was what children called as those gross kisses. He ran his tongue across her lower lip for entrance. She obliged. Tifa gently laced her hands around his neck and Cloud held her waist as he pushed her against the wall of the little cart.

And so they kissed.

And kissed.

And kissed.

….

….

….

...

Finally they parted.

That was it. The kiss told everything, she was his and he was hers.

"Be ready, I'm very selfish, I have very low self control and I have very strong desires"

"I figured, Chokobo-kun." She said as he pulled him for another kiss.

--

**Ch0knaT: **Whew. Fluffiest chapter ever. Must stop the cheese overflow.

Oh and uhm, sorry, I got confused between the chapters and I was careless enough to not check. Uhm. That disclaimer on the other chappie, the one about the flashback was supposed to be for this one.

I'll repeat it:

**Disclaimer**: The flashback was quoted from Lockhert016's My Cloud. I just did minor editing. 

Anyway, please do read and review, more action shall happen in the next chappies, I hope you like this one.

There might be some grammatical errors, sorry. ToT

Feel free to criticize whatever there is to be criticized. :)

Thanks again for the reviews hands out cookies


	13. Busted

**Ch0knaT: **Gah. So many misfortunes in my life lead to this late update. I'm very sorry. I changed something in the plot of the story so there was a delay. And theeen. Just when I was about to update 3 days ago, the file I saved in my USB got corrupted. Dayum! So I had to write everything in this chapter again. I'm really really sorry. -hits my head with a papaya-

Well, let's forget the negative side ne? XD Uhm.

Anyway, thanks so much for the reviews. I lab all of you! I hope you continue reading despite my bad fortune. ToT

This chappie had faced me with a lot of firsts. ;) And I hope you guys would like them. This chap was cool to write. :)

Here goes…

--

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter XIII: Busted**_

Monday. Today was the day first day of class since their field trip and gladly everything was in place. Nothing really changed after the trip anyway, so yea, everything was in place. Except for Cloud and Tifa's status quo though, that undoubtedly changed, but it was secret, so there's no apparent difference. With their popularity and Tifa's father still enraged, they had no choice but to keep it low. They agreed to that. They would be discreet. Discreet would be them.

So I guess, the room would be nothing but normal. The girls would cluster on the side of the room, boys on the other. Some students would be doing homework, some would be sleeping, some would be just arriving and some would be simply sitting in their chairs, just like Cloud Strife. If today was indeed a normal day, the blond would be sitting in his usual window seat. And Tifa Lockheart would be right next to hi-

Hmm.

Cloud in the window seat? Tifa beside him?

How come they weren't there?

Maybe they were in the hall. That would be it, they were in the hall. But what's this? They weren't?

Then maybe Cloud's in the principal's office? No. In his condo? No.

How about Tifa? In her house? Perhaps she's running late? No. In the girls bathroom? No.

They weren't in their usual places, well, it's probably not a normal day after all.

If one looked around, he wouldn't find either of them. They weren't in the canteen. They weren't in the field. They weren't in the gym and the only people at the back of the gym was a blond having _fun_ with his raven haired girlfriend.

Wait. Wait. Wait. That blond having _fun_ with his raven haired girlfriend looked familiar.

_Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart._

What about discreet? I thought they were going to keep it low? What happened to hiding it? Well, I guess in their dictionary, this was still discreet. No one's watching after all.

Anyway, they were having fun alright. Cloud's arm was wrapped around Tifa's waist; he used his weight to slightly push her against the wall while his other hand was sort of cupping her lower cheek so that her head would be tilted.

On the other hand, _his girlfriend's_ hands were lost in his blond spiky hair. She had always wanted to feel those soft spikes against her palms and fingers, and just as she expected, she loved it. She also loved the feeling of his body pushing against hers. His breath against her skin. His lips on hers. His tongue dancing playfully with hers.

But as much as she loved it, Tifa used all her will power and broke the kiss for a while. "Cloud…" She said with a heavy breath as she tried catching his notice, they're eyes met for a little while, but Cloud's attention seemed to be elsewhere.

"Mmm?" Cloud asked as he bent down gently started bushing his lips against the side of her neck.

"Cloud" She tried to make it sound stern, but it ended up sounding like a soft sweet moan of his name. "Mmm"

No response, he just started nibbling at the bottom of her ear.

She rested the back of her head on the wall. Gah. She was caught up in him.

"It's almost-..mmm.."

"We could get in-"

She couldn't finish her sentences!

"Come on Cloud.." She tried to speak steadily but the sensation of his lips on her skin just kept sending stubborn shivers up her spine.

His lips moved to the other side of her neck. "We have to.." He nibbled on her other ear. "Get back" No use. He still continued.

That's it!

"Are you even listening to me?" Tifa grabbed hold of his hair quite roughly and made him face her.

"Ow!" the blond said with a slightly scrounged expression.

This left her kind of guilty so she loosened his grip and sort of stroked his hair in a gentle manner, but nevertheless, she continued her intentions. "Cloud, we have to get back to class."

He pouted.

Tifa shook her head and then leaned against his wolf like earring, which basically meant she also leaned against his ear. "We'll just continue it later.." She pulled off to face an irritated Cloud.

"Damn it Tifa, I thought you wanted stop."

"I do."

"Well, you doing that is obviously not helping!"

She was playing with him again. Damn. Come to think about it, it was Cloud who had many girlfriends, and _he _was actually her first boyfriend. Who gave her the right to have the authority?

"Well then Cloud, I guess we have some time for just one more kiss" She leaned against him and just as he was about to kiss back, she pulled away. "Well, that's enough time ne?" She smiled innocently.

Cloud closed his eyes in irritation. He wanted to…to…to…to tickle her to death. Yea, that was the best Cloud Strife could think of. Hn.

She slipped off his embrace and got her bag. This left Cloud with a scowl as he watched her move away.

"Shall we go?" She grinned, straightened her uniform, turned back and walked, almost skipped, ahead.

Cloud blew on of his bangs up. God, he hated in-control-responsible-student Tifa. Gah. Who was he kidding? It turned him on. He smirked, picked up his bag and followed her.

--

When the two of them entered the room, everything was still in a big mess. When I say it's in a big mess, that means the teacher wasn't there yet. Good news.

"Where have you two been?" Zack asked as he hooked his arm on the back of his chair.

"Nowhere" Both of them said in a distressful chorus and they started walking to their chairs, quite fidgety I might add.

"There's no need to hide." Cloud and Tifa stopped their tracks.

"What are you talking about?" The two turned around slowly. They were acting like kids who got caught stealing cookies.

"You two making out in the back of the gym"

"We didn't-" Tifa retorted wide eyed, quite defensively.

"How did you know?!" Cloud butt in. But to his surprise, Zack was surprised.

He stared wide eyed at the two.

"What?" Both of them asked in confusion.

Zack, once again. Laughed.

"Oh my God!" Aerith too stared wide eyed, but she put a hand to cover her mouth since she was holding back laughter.

"WHAT?!" For the first time in such a long while, they were irritated at the same thing and not at eachother.

What the hell is wrong with these people? It's confusing them.

"It was meant to be a joke, but apparently it's not" Zack was still laughing.

Redness crept in both their cheeks. Saying their faces looked pink was an understatement, they were tomatoes. And the fact that the whole class was looking now at them wasn't helping. So much for secrecy and discretion.

Awkward.

Still Awkward.

Still still awkward.

"Good morning class" Everyone jerked a little bit as they heard Ms. Elmyra's voice. Tifa and Cloud were saved by the bell. And to think, a few minutes ago they were about to be late for the bell.

Still wanting more action, the students sighed and wearily went back to their seats, of course muffled whispers could be heard. It was big news that made their morning after all.

Tifa sighed, this was unbelievable. She closed her eyes to cradle up the frustration. Cloud gave her hand a light squeeze; she looked at him with exhausted eyes.

"It's okay" Cloud mouthed as he let go and sat down. At least that made her feel better, she sat down as well, but the heavy feeling in her gut was still there.

What would happen if her father knew? She'd die. She could just imagine herself tied upside down 3 inches above a pool with 46845673946794376 killer barracudas.

She gave out one more helpless moan and banged her head to the desk.

_I'm dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead._

Tifa has never feared disobeying her father or answering back or acting sarcastic in front of him, but being busted was a totally different scenario. Getting caught would mean hell would break lose. Her dad had been giving out hints, erm, blatant actions to show how much he disliked the certain blond. His anger then was already sky rocketing, but luckily Tifa can handle that sort of rage. Imagine though, if you can, how his emotions will rise if he knew that his daughter actually was dating the blond. Let's see if Tifa, or anyone for that matter, can handle it.

--

It was already lunch break already and Tifa was still pondering about her doom .She couldn't help herself. The situation was code red.

The four of them made their way to the cafeteria. As usual, gossip spread around, but those were the least of Hime's problems.

"Tifa, this isn't like you." Cloud said with worry.

She didn't reply.

"Come to think of it, isn't it easier this way? We don't have to hide." He emphasized the point by holding on to her hand. HE was trying to make her feel better.

"It's not that…wh..my..what if my dad found out?" She looked up at him.

"You were the one who told me he couldn't stop you"

"He's not. He can't. I mean, I'm not stopping anything, he can't stop me, but I never said it would be easy if he found out"

"He won't. I'm sure he won't. I won't let that happen" He said plainly without even looking at her.

"Promise?" She was like a kid. And Cloud couldn't help but smile, he looked at her.

"I promise" Finally, she smiled. Well, it did feel better, now that Cloud promised.

"Yea, come on, you two should lighten up!" Zack butted in and put his arms around Cloud and Tifa's shoulder, forcing them to break up. He was now in the middle. But then he felt a fan hit him in the head. It was Aerith.

"You're the one who got them in trouble" Her eyes were closed as she spoke.

"Hey, they should even thank me for freeing them from the misery of secrecy." Well, hedgehog boy did have a point. "Come on, thank me…I know you want to thank me"

"Thank you" Cloud and Tifa gave in, Zack's charm was unbeatable.

--

The four of them ate their relatively peaceful lunch in the table. Aside from the casual stares and whispers, they managed to eat. The attention was nothing new.

The girls were talking about going to the mall in the weekend when both Cloud and Zack's cellphones beeped. The two read the message and looked at each other, they're facial expression suddenly turned serious, but they were smirking.

Tifa was confused, what just happened?

"Cloud? Who was that?" She had always wanted to know who was texting him, and now that they're together, she had the right to. Right?

"We have to go." Tifa's voice was disregarded. Zack stood up and Cloud was about to stand too when Tifa pulled him back down.

"Where are you going?" She said slightly irritated. What's he thinking leaving her like this?

"Hey, Cloud? Where are you going? When are you coming back?" Gah. She had to stop asking those questions.

Cloud grabbed a soft chocolate chip cookie and stuffed it in her talking mouth. Now she couldn't do anything but chew. Her eyebrows curved down as she tried talking amidst the chocolate pastry stuffed in her mouth. The blond stood up and kissed her nose.

"I'll be back to take you home later, wait for me bye the bleachers" He said with half a smile as he went of to follow Zack. She couldn't protest.

_He's hiding something._

Tifa quit trying to talk with the large chunk on her mouth. Instead she chewed it calmly. After having finally finished it. She drank water.

"What the hell is wrong with those two?" She said with irritation. Confusion. Worry.

"Well you'll know later on…" Aerith said with a small smile as she played with her earring.

"So you know what they're up to too?"

"Well, let's just say it's a guy thing."

"What is it then?"

"I think it's better if Cloud told you ne?"

"I know, it's just…it gets me worried. They're always off like that and most of the time they come back late for class the next day" Tifa said as she looked at the door of the canteen where Cloud and Zack just went out of.

_What are they doing?_

--

Two figures riding motorcycles raced through Midgar. The engines were roaring across the metropolitan. Dust clouds rushed right behind them as they went in a reckless speed. The vehicle on the right side of the road was Fenrir, and of course, the person who was riding it was Cloud. The other person was Zack, he had a bike too. And of course, it had a name too. Valkyrie.

"They said they were over at sector four?" Cloud shouted out as he pulled a sword out off this cool inventory thingy which pops out almost automatically.

"Yea, everyone's there already!"

Both nodded and pumped their engines to go faster.

--

Tifa turned the pages of her book to look for the answers to the problem set. Somehow she couldn't concentrate. She kept glancing at the empty seat to her left.

She was worried; she always was, everytime they were out. She didn't know where they went. And she hated the fact that Cloud was skipping class for that "guy thing" which seemed so important.

She's jealous too. How come Aerith knows?

She took a deep breath, shook her head and went back into answering the seat work. Her own questions would have to wait.

--

Zack and Cloud's motors screeched as they turned it to the side to help the halt. They have arrived in their destination.

A Mako Reactor down at Sector 4.

The huge structure was now slowly burning, although the main building wasn't caught up in fire yet, the poles around it were. Fire balls were flying around everywhere and in the background were super cool fighting scenes.

A man with a red cloak flew or should I say, jumped about trying to hit the person who was going after him. He was on the top of the reactor. He used this gun to hit the target and he jumped freely to evade the attacks.

Another man, a huge man who had a gun on his arm stood in the railing was trying to hit his swooping target. He was steady, his moves weren't as flashy as the cloaked guy's but his aims and stance were awesome.

And surprise surprise, Cid Highwind, their_ teacher_ was there too. He was on the top of the reactor too, he was expertly evading the punches of his attacker. And he used his spear like weapon to beat him up.

So is this Avalanche?

A petite ninja girl momentarily looked at the two new comers as she effortlessly beat up a six foot man; she grabbed his arm and threw him to the wall. She turned away from him and walked calmly towards Zack and Cloud. "You two are late!" She said as she seemingly carelessly threw a shuriken over her back to hit the man who she beat up as he tried to attack her from behind.

Zack sort of flinched "That was merciless Yuff"

"Hm. Serves him right, he gave me a scratch!" She yelled childishly as she showed an almost invisible mark on her arm.

"Hey you three! Get your lazy asses up here!" The three of them looked up and saw that about five people were running toward Cid. They were simultaneously trying to hit him, but their teacher smoothly maneuvered his spear like weapon. His actions prevented his opponents from coming anywhere near him.

Having seen this, the trio immediately started running toward the top of the reactor.

"So, what's happening here?" Zack managed to say as they ran up the stairs

"Well, this is it. We're finally kicking the sorry asses of the group that was causing all our troubles!"

You see, for the past few weeks, a mysterious group has been posing as Avalanche. They used the name to destroy the Mako reactors, it wasn't different from what the real Avalanche group was doing, but these guys have been using cheap tricks like using civilians to mess around. That was definitely uncalled for.

Sooner or later Avalanche started hating the brainless posers who were tactlessly making them look bad. Each one of them was already in jeopardy from the Turks, this other gang just made everything much more difficult.

They have reached the top of the reactor.

"So they're the group who's been messing around with us huh?" Zack asked as he ran off to find a victim to pulverize with his buster sword.

"Yup, Red was right, they'd attack this reactor next, so here we are, extermination time!" The ninja girls shouted those words so that Zack could still hear. She sounded quite excited too. She seemingly flew up and released the three daggers which were between her fingers. "Haha! Take that!"

"Hn. Those bastards will be getting it! Fuck them." Cloud said plainly following the ninja girl as he leaped off the last step of the staircase. He has officially entered the battle zone.

"Yo!" He called the attention of one dude who was running in an attempt to hit the already busy Cid. The man turned back only to see an airborne chocobo head about to hit him and with one slash he was on the floor. It wasn't enough to kill him though; it was just too keep him unable to move for a week or so. Cloud still had mercy.

"How many are these people?" the blond couldn't help asking himself as he looked around the chaos. There were about twenty of them, the enemies I mean.

The men and women from the side they were fighting weren't really good though. None yet could match up to the Avalanche members.

Not until this short haired silver guy popped out.

Cloud immediately felt his presence; he hastily kicked off his present opponent so he could move to attack the strong company.

He ran towards him and slashed his huge sword, but the silver haired man evaded. Cloud, becoming impatient, used his free hand to quickly 'dismantle' his weapon. His wide sword was seemingly cut in two. Now he has one on each hand. Man, his weapons were awesome.

The blond began attacking him swiftly and it was getting harder and harder for the silver haired man to dodge.

"Damn" Cloud's opponent whispered.

"So you're leading these pea brains?" Cloud said with a smirk as his alternately used his right and left hand to try and get to him, the blond was walking forward while his opponent was stepping backward with every advancement.

His foe didn't answer and with one swift motion the silver haired man jumped from the top of the reactor.

"Damn!" Cloud said as he stopped by the end of the rail. He took a few steps back and jumped down too.

Zack, who was busy fighting this nunchuck- equipped guy, still managed to see what happened "Cloud!...Agh!" He pushed his attacker aside and kicked him forcefully; the nunchucks dude slammed up against the wall leaving Zack to freely follow Cloud. He rushed platform where Cloud jumped off, and well, he jumped off too.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Cid asked hysterically as he watched Zack leap off. Apparently, the hedgehog head had no time to reply.

Zack bent his one knee to help break the impact of his fall. "Where'd he go?" He stood up and ran to the entrance of the mako reactor.

The place was full of wires; sparks were coming out almost all of the bundles since the place had been toasted. Small scraps of metal were falling off too. Zack followed the corridor to the main operating room of the reactor. By experience he knew where each path lead.

"Cloud?!" Finally he saw the chocobo head's figure by the entrance of the operating room. He put his sword to his back and ran to his comrade. But something seemed to be wrong, Cloud was standing. Just. Standing.

Wasn't he supposed to be beating the hell out of that gay looking silver haired man?

"Cloud what happened?" He made stood beside his friend who was looking up at something, but Zack didn't bother looking at it just yet. Cloud's face seemed to be in awe. Fear.

"Cloud?" Eventually Zack also looked at the direction his friend was looking at.

_Oh God._

Sephiroth.

--

It was already about 4.30 in the afternoon, and the school was already emptying. The blue sky was slowly turning orange as the sun started to set.

"Tifa, are you sure you're still waiting for Cloud?" Aerith asked as both made their way out of the main hall of the school.

"Yea." She said not looking back at her companion.

"Well, I have to go" Aerith was worried. Cloud may not make it back in time.

"It's fine."

"It's quite late, don't you think you should just go"

"No, Cloud told me he'd come back and take me home" She looked at Aerith with a reassuring smile.

"Well, okay. Look I really have to go, just take care okay?" Aerith gave Tifa a small pat on the shoulder before she went off to go out the gate of the school.

Tifa sighed as she made her way up the court. She went up the bleachers and sat herself comfortably. She hugged her knees to her chest. It was getting cold and her skirt wasn't helping, but good thing she wore knee high socks.

Looks like this is going to be a long wait.

--

"It's nice to see you two again" Sephiroth said with a smirk across his lips. He was, levitating.

Well, I don't know who exactly this Sephiroth guy is , but he looked scary. Dispair. Anger. Pain. Horror. Probably all of the negative feelings one can feel in Gaia radiated around his presence.

"Bastard!" Forgetting the shock he just got from seeing this man again, Cloud ran towards him in an attempt to cut him up. He looked so frustrated with this Sephiroth, whatever did he do anyway?

"Ah-ah. Puppet, let's save that for next time" Sephiroth chuckled evilly and raised his hand, in a matter of seconds his figure completely vanished.

"Damn" Cloud cursed as he watched his escape.

"How did he-?" Zack still stood at the same place. He was staring blankly at the spot where Sephiroth had just disappeared in.

"I don't know, apparently the gay looking dude's name is Kadaj, he ran off somewhere, and I couldn't find him, so I figured he was in the main operating room. And then, this green light flashed. Poof. It was the son of a bitch Sephiroth"

"What happened here?" Zack and Cloud looked back as they heard a familiar voice.

"Aerith?" Zack asked

"Yea, Barret called, some people were injured, and they plan on healing them a bit first before surrendering them to the police. They didn't want them to look too hurt or else Avalanche would get another fault."

"So we're surrendering 'fake Avalanche' huh?" Cloud smirked and walked toward the door. He seemed cool again but we all know he was still baffled.

It was all too weird. Sephiroth. Kadaj. Fake Avalanche. Who's behind this?

Cloud made his way out of the reactor where the rest of his friends were.

"What happened in there?" The ninja girl asked.

"Apparently, Sephiroth's back" Zack said, he and Aerith was just a few seconds behind Cloud.

"WHAT?!" Everyone's eyeballs would've fallen off out if it was physically possible.

"How did this happen?" a red fury dog like creature, Red XIII, asked. He was the most collected.

"I don't know. I just saw him in the reactor" Cloud said seriously. He would've continued if he didn't feel his phone vibrate. It's been vibrating concurrently since they got there. He took it out and a dialogue box which said "15 messages received" greeted him.

"Tifa?" He whispered.

"Oh, yea, Cloud, she's waiting for you" Aerith said in a worried tone. Okay, we all know that Sephiroth reappearing was a big deal, but Tifa was important too you know.

"Shit" Cloud flipped his phone shut and walked ignorantly to his Fenrir.

"Yo kid! Where the fuck are you going?!" Barret, the guy with a gun on his arm, shouted but Cloud kept walking.

"What's he doing?!" Yuffie, the now irritated ninja girl looked Zack.

"He's being normal for once. Let him go." The hedgehog head said calmly with a crooked smile.

"What? Where?"

"To his girlfriend."

Everyone's eyeballs wanted to fall off their sockets again.

"WHAT?!" It seemed to be more surprising than Sephiroth's appearance.

Cloud had girlfriends, yea, and he's done normal things, but ever since he was small, he kept Avalanche and fighting on the top of his priority list. This was the first time his colleagues saw him chose something normal over them.

--

Cloud half-heartedly drove Fenrir to their school, he was almost sure Tifa had left, it's seven-thirty already, maybe she waited up to six or six-thirty, but not this late.

He actually wasn't supposed to drop by the school anymore, but there was just something that pulled him there. His brain was telling him that she had gone home, that's the most logical thing. I mean, who would wait for him up to this time in the night? But something in his gut told him to go back. Some feeling was tugging him to the place.

Fear perhaps?

Now that Sephiroth's back, Tifa's risk of danger would rise. He just wanted to see her. Be with her. Make sure she's safe.

And now, I can honestly say that he wasn't sure he made the right decision. Doubts were filling his head again. He hated himself for being this indecisive when it came to her.

_What if I can't protect her?_

He had resolved this problem with Zack a few days ago. He shouldn't be worrying. It's _just_ Sephiroth.

Cloud dismounted his bike and entered the school. The lights were already out. Only the lamp posts were turned on and they were rather dim.

_She's not here anymore_.

Still being stubborn, he let aside his thoughts and made his way to the bleachers.

Nothing. She wasn't there.

_I knew she went home. Why am I disappointed? It's a good thing too, I mean, she's safe now in her house._

He turned his back to go home, somewhat dissatisfied, when the side of his eye caught something.

_Tifa?_

He turned back once again and looked closer. He moved towards the bleachers and as he got closer, the lump of a figure was clearing up. It seemed to be a female student. Her hair was silky and black. Her legs where hugged to her chest and she seemed to be sleeping with her head against her knees.

She waited.

The blond found himself smiling. "That idiot." Cloud semi-jogged his way to her.

It's amazing how the sight of her could make Cloud completely forget all his doubts.

--

**Ch0knat: **Oh my God. O.O. I'm finally done with this one. Haha. It's my first time to write a 'make out' scene. It's also my first time to write a large scale fighting scene. Damn, this fic is making me squeeze out my creative juices. I can't feel my head. You guys better review, blood, sweat and tears went to this chapter. Lol. I'm kidding. XD

Anyway, so I guess, you guys know why Zack and Cloud could give one hell of a fight ne? Haha. They're part of Avalanche. ;p

I hope you guys liked it! There was a bit of fluff overload there, ne? Haha. Just tell me if there are errors and I shall correct. :)

Thanks so much for reading -hands out cupcakes- I think I just ran out of cookies, I kept eating them while writing this. Wahaha.

Well, criticisms are always welcome. Thanks again for reading. Hope you liked it. And if you did like it, glad you liked it. :)


	14. Juggling 2 Lives

My Runny Nosed Hime

**Ch0knaT:** Haia! I'm glad to have updated. Weee. Thanks so much for the reviews. :)

I think this chappie will sort of clear a lot of things out and again new surprises. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing. :)

Thanks again so much.

Well, here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter XIV: Juggling 2 Lives  
**_

Tifa stirred as she felt the chilly wind brush against her skin. Her eyes slowly fluttered open; she was finally coming back to her senses. She did fall asleep while waiting for Cloud.

"What time is it?" The patient young lady whispered to herself, and then looked over her shoulder as she felt an extra layer of warmth. She knew that scent from anywhere, it was Cloud's, but he wasn't there, only his school coat which was on her back.

"Cloud?" She looked around to find him. There he was. The blond was leaning against the railings of the bleachers. His hands were clasped together and he looked at the bright shining full moon.

Tifa stood up, straightened her skirt, grabbed her bag and carried Cloud's school coat. She walked towards him. She was relieved, Cloud was here. Everything was fine. For a moment back there, she thought that she'd have to stay up to when the bell rang the next day, but even so, she waited, she trusted Cloud, she trusted him more than she trusted herself.

"Cloud…" Tifa held the side of his arm, it caught his attention he looked at her, almost surprised.

"You're awake" He smiled as he reached out his hand tucked a lock of her hair between her ear. She liked that. "I guess we should go home…" Cloud bent down to give her a light kiss on the lips and held her hand.

Tifa smiled, she knew he'd come. She was glad that, whatever he did, he came back for her.

_Wait a minute? Where did he go? What? After hours of waiting he kisses me and then everything goes well without his explanation?!_

Cloud walked a few steps so that they could move to Fenrir but Tifa resisted moving. He tugged her hand, she still didn't move. The blond turned around to see a frustrated Tifa.

"What is it?" Oh he knew what she wanted, but he didn't want to give it to her. No, not yet, he thought.

"Aren't you going to tell me something?" She wriggled her hands out of his grasp. She wasn't going to hold hands with him until he told her what the hell happened.

"You're beautiful?" Cloud gave an unsure smile and Tifa crossed her arms.

"No" She liked his statement, but this wasn't the time for joking around.

"I love you?"

Tifa rolled her eyes.

"Let's run away and live together?" Man, where's he getting this stuff from?

Tifa raised her hands up in total hopelessness. "Cloud? Wha- What's wrong with you? Are you high? Did you hit your head? Were you traumatized as a child? Did you have a brain surgery that caused you to be emotionally stunted? You- you don't make your girlfriend wait for you for hours and suddenly just kiss her and tell her you should go home. Cloud I want an explanation…"

Cloud sighed. He couldn't escape her; in fact, he shouldn't even try escaping her.

"How about this…" Cloud took a few steps to go near her. "I'll take you home first then I can tell you there." He said it almost pleadingly. Maybe she'd forget about it once she's home.

"Why not here?" Tifa wasn't gonna give up, she didn't wait for nothing. She worried her ass off, she deserved an explanation. The raven haired girl looked at him sternly. He didn't reply; he just looked down. And just like that, she gave in AGAIN.

"Okay, but promise to tell me when I get home."

With a serious look, she held out her pinky about six inches in front of her face. "Promise me." The blond had no choice; he gave a crooked smile and hooked his pinky with hers. "Sure" With that, the two of them made their way to Fenrir, with their pinkies still together, I might add.

--

Cloud halted his bike five houses away from Tifa's. It was too risky to stop in front of their house, with top notch security systems, it was impossible for Tifa's father to not notice the chocobo head taking is daughter home. Coming to the Lockheart's when Tifa was sick was such a big risk that he could've sworn he heard the gates of hell open. Good thing he wasn't caught that time though. Even so, they can't afford risking it again.

Both of them dismounted Fenrir. Tifa immediately faced Cloud. "Your promise."

"Uh, yea. About that I was.."

"You were..?"

"I go..I" Then it hit him. A brilliant idea hit Cloud Strife. "Zack and I race."

Okay. So it wasn't brilliant, it's actually the opposite. Stupid stupid stupid Cloud. Lying would get him nowhere, but he couldn't tell her. He could just imagine her face if she knew he was a part of Avalanche. She, she would be scared of him.

"Race?"

"Yea, race, you know those things in The Fast and The Furious or in Need for Speed. Zack and I are sort of like that, but I ride Fenrir, he rides Valkyrie"

She was dumbstruck. I was dumbstruck. I bet you were too.

"So that's it? You skip classes for that?" I guess the news wasn't all surprising they were Cloud Strife and Zack Fair after all. No one could contain either of them, but nonetheless, the reason was somewhat anticlimactic.

"Yea, embarrassing huh? That's why I couldn't tell you" Cloud scratched the back of his neck. Even he didn't know what he was doing.

_Maybe Tifa was right. Maybe I am high, maybe I hit my head, maybe I was traumatized as a child, and maybe I have undergone a brain surgery that went wrong._

"Uhm. Yea. Uhm. I'll get creamed if I go home any later, I guess I should go" She was unsatisfied with his answer, but like I said so many times before, she trusted him. Now only if Cloud knew how much, then maybe he wouldn't have done something so moronic like lying to her.

The blond snapped out from his thoughts. "Yea sure, goodnight, I'll meet you by the park tomorrow, let's walk together" She nodded and then kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks"

His girlfriend started walking towards her house, but he remembered, she owed him too. Cloud got hold of her arm and she spun into his arms.

"What?" Tifa half-gigglingly asked, but Cloud didn't reply, he just bent down to kiss her. Here we go again. Cloud pulled her closer to him as he deepened the kiss and of course, instinctively, Tifa wrapped her arm around his neck, while the other was playing with his earing.

Tsk. Bad children, and just, four houses away from Mr. Lockheart's presence.

Eventually Cloud let go. "You said we'd continue later."

"But I didn't mean to do it in a proximity where it's possible that my dad can see us" She laughed a little and lightly kissed him on the lips.

"Well, it's fun this way"

"It's fun, until we get caught. Cloud, I really have to go" Tifa let go of the Cloud and he kissed his cheek one last time.

"Okay, bye. I'll watch you 'til you get home"

"Sure, night!"

Cloud stood there and watched her, while idiotically smiling; he wasn't going home until he saw her enter the gate.

As soon as she got in the _bad thoughts _started invading his mind. Cloud kicked the tire of his Fenrir. It was something he usually wouldn't do, but what the heck? See, Tifa soothed him. Bye-bye Tifa means bye-bye nice warm feeling.

"Fuck! What did I just do?" Cloud ran his hand through his hair.

I'll tell you what you did, you lied to your Hime.

--

The next morning, Tifa yawned as she made her way to the park. She was already over the _surprise _Cloud had told her yesterday.

When the still sleepy young lady arrived at the park, her boyfriend was already there. Cloud was leaning against one of the poles of the swings. His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed.

The blond stood up and finally opened his eyes as he felt Tifa's presence; he walked to her so that they met half way.

"I missed you" Cloud said with a smirk.

Tifa laughed a little and sort of jokingly smacked him in the face. "When did you get so cheesy?"

"Since I met you again" Cloud took her hand and bent down to kiss her but then…

BOOM!

"CLOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUD!!" A high pitched voice resounded in the whole city. Tifa almost squealed when suddenly this rampaging petite short haired teenager tackled _her boyfriend_.

Tifa's jaws hung wide open, her eyes twitched, her blood pressure raised 200 over 90 as she watched Cloud on the floor, being harassed by this seemingly sexy teenager she didn't even recognize.

"Cloud! You look so cool in your uniform! Kyaaa!" the girl was hugging him so tight. No space could be seen between them. Tifa saw red; she was supposed to be the only one who got close to him like that.

The girl nuzzled her head to the crook of Cloud's neck.

Tifa clenched her fist.

The girl squeezed the side of his check.

Tifa flexed and closed her hands.

"Excuse me!" Tifa blurted out. What was happening here?

The unknown girl stopped her actions, left Cloud and stood up immediately.

Now, a better look. The girl was kind of short; her hair reached just a few inches below her ears. Her eyes were shiny and sort of Asian, she looked young. She had a fair sized green and orange backpack. She also wore their uniform, not properly though. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, her skirt was definitely shorter than the usual, her school coat was tied to her waist, the first 2 buttons were undone, she wore her school ribbon loosely and she wore all these sort of bracelets and ninja like gloves in her hands.

"Ooh. You must be Tifa Lockheart" She beamed at the now confused raven haired young lady. "I'm Yuffie Kisaragi, princess of Wutai" She held out her hand to shake Tifa's. Tifa was about to shake her hands too "Pleased to mee-"

Cloud interrupted them, and grabbed Yuffie by the elbow. "Wait a sec Teef" He yanked her to the back of the slide so that Tifa couldn't see him.

Tifa stood there by herself. Her eyes squinted as he watched them go behind an elephant shaped slide. Dumbstruck, again, but this time she was also frustrated and jealous.

Behind the elephant slide…

"Yuffie, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, you went home early yesterday." Yuffie crossed her arms.

"Did you find anything about Sephiroth?"

"Well, Reeve found this" Yuffie got a small round, silver camera like object from her skirt's pocket. Cloud took it from her hand.

"What's this?" He studied it.

"Apparently it's a hologram maker thingy."

"Hologram maker thingy?"

"Yes, the Sephy you saw was a hologram."

"But I'm certain I felt his presence…" Cloud was serious about the conversation, but Yuffie was jumping around trying to look past the slide. "Yuffie!"

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to catch a glimpse of Tifa Lockheart again" She said, she was still trying to peep.

"Come on, do you have Avalanche work for me?"

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

"I wanted to see your girlfriend" She grinned and then skipped to Tifa.

_I'm certain what I saw was Sephiroth_

Cloud shrugged his thoughts off, sighed and followed the skipping Yuffie.

"So how are you Teef?" The ninja girl enthusiastically asked the still confused Tifa.

"Well, I'm fine I guess" She didn't know what to say.

"Oi oi. Save that for later Yuffie, we should get to school." Cloud ushered the two girls to walk.

Yuffie, clung to Clouds arms and started walking. Poor Cloud, he wanted to strangle himself.

"Sure! Onwards Cloud!"

_She's pretty excited_.

Tifa rolled her eyes and followed Cloud and Yuffie's lead. She wanted to grind Cloud's face in cement at that time. _She _should be clinging in his arms right now. God. What did she do to deserve this?

--

Alas, they have reached the school and I swear, Cloud had undergone a lot of things in this school, but this was the first time he felt embarrassed. Who wouldn't? A new, second year kid was clinging to your arms while your girlfriend was following behind. He could only imagine what went through the minds of his schoolmates.

Tifa on the other hand didn't care much about the other students. She was too busy thinking of ways on how to break Cloud's leg and Yuffie's arm. She wasn't a sadist. No. I mean, you would think of nasty thoughts too if you were in her place.

Finally, the three of them went under the refuge of Zack and Aerith, they saw the two of them by the lockers.

"Yuffie?"Aerith was kind of surprised.

"Oh hey Aerith!"

"Hi Yuffie" The green eyed girl smiled, Zack on the other hand just gave a small wave

_Aerith and Zack knows her?_

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to see Ti-" She was cut off again.

"Yuffie, don't you have to go to the principal's office first? That's what they do to the new students" Cloud interjected, at the moment, he wanted time alone with Tifa. You know, time where no one would cling to his, now numb, arm.

"Oh yea. I totally forgot about that. Cloud, could you take me there?"

"You can go by yourself" Yuffie pouted.

"Please. I won't give anymore materi-"

"Okay okay" An uneasy Cloud led her through the halls. Tifa would get dubious if the ninja mentioned materia.

Aerith smiled to herself as she looked at Tifa who was worriedly watching the spike-head and the ninja walk away.

"Don't worry, they're just really close" Tifa snapped out of her trance and she looked at Aerith.

"Worried? Heh. I'm not worried" Tifa tried to hid the anxiety but she ended up looking down onto her shoes.

"It's just that, Cloud has always been like an older brother to Yuffie. You know Cloud isn't like that." Tifa sort of felt relieved. Her heart sort of softened towards Yuffie. She was just a friend, and Cloud's friends should be hers too. Yea. Cloud wasn't someone who'd ditch his girlfriend. Tifa nodded. Cloud was hers.

"Hey, hate to break up the girly chit chat, but we should get to class."

Okay, so while everyone else is listening to a boring lecture about mixing elixirs, I'll tell you something about Cloud and Yuffie's relationship. Well, just like the ninja girl said earlier, she was a princess in Wutai. She lived there, well, up until she joined Avalanche. See, a few years ago, an evil silver haired man, whom we all know as Sephiroth, attacked their royal family and it was Cloud's group who fought to help them. This left Yuffie in awe. She was so grateful and she admired Avalanche. She wanted to join them as thanks and at the same time, she wanted to be like the people she looked up to. Before she joined, she already had some ninja skills, since they were also a family line who treasured the art of..erm. Ninjaism. But it was Cloud who helped her become better, he took care of her, he made her stronger, she owed him a lot, she thanked him a lot and of course, though they were only a few years apart, she admired him a lot. Just like a roll model. Their bond was something special. It was not a childhood-friend-turned-lover- deep-relationship-undying-love-Cloud-and-Tifa sort of special, but nevertheless, it was special.

--

Lunch break.

Tifa was glad that it as just the four of them eating lunch. She was sure Yuffie wouldn't come, second year students had a different schedule right?

The raven haired girl waited for he companion by the door.

"I'm sorry about this morning" Tifa jerked as Cloud snaked his hands down to intertwine his fingers with hers.

"It's okay" She looked at him with a smile.

"I'm glad, thanks for holding it off with Yuffie"

"It's nothing" She kissed him in the chin. "Shall we go now?"

Cloud nodded and they walked hand in hand as usual.

--

"Yuffie, do you want to eat lunch with us?" An orange haired girl asked the ninja. She was one of her classmates.

"Ah. No thank you. I have to show Cloud something" The new new girl didn't bother looking at them when she answered; she was busy putting her things back to her bag. By saying 'things', I don't mean notebooks and pens. No, they were these tiny gadgets and mini weapons she was fixing during class time, some materia were scattered around her desk to. Hn. Her classmates thought she was a ninja nerd or something, little did they know, she was actually more than a nerd.

Her two friendly classmates looked confused. "Cloud? Cloud Strife?" The green haired girl asked.

Yuffie was done with her packing; she looked back up to them and smiled. "Yup."

"You do know he has a girlfriend…"

"I know" the ninja girl said causally as she stood up, turned her back and went out to look for Cloud.

The pair she left behind looked at each other. It was amazing how this Yuffie Kisaragi could handle Cloud. The two of them couldn't even talk to him, let alone stand looking at Cloud in the eye; they would've blushed, fainted and melted. Well, it seems that new girls had this impact on Cloud. First Tifa, now Yuffie.

--

In the dining hall, the four ate their lunch.

"So, Cloud told me why you go off like that…" Tifa started a conversation.

"Well that's good." Zack replied without looking at her, he was too busy with his food.

"Since when have you been racing?"

_Racing?_

Suddenly all of Zack's attention went to her. He raced, yea, but that wasn't the reason why they'd "go off like that". Zack looked at Tifa skeptically.

"Race?"

Cloud got a pen and immediately wrote something on his table napkin. Once done swiftly writing the message, he stealthily passed it on to Zack.

"Yea, that's what you do right?" Tifa was becoming dubious now.

Before Zack could answer the question, he looked down on the napkin note that Cloud had passed on to him.

**Go along with it. Or die, Fair.**

The hedgehog head gave Cloud a sarcastic, irritated smile before answering Tifa. "Yea, well, we've been racing since we were like ten"

Whew. It felt like Cloud had dodged a sniper shot.

"Cloud!" Before the conversation got deeper, someone hugged the blond from behind. It was Yuffie again. "Cloud can I show you something by the locker?" she pulled him by the arm. Cloud sighed; he didn't want to make a fuss in the canteen so he just went along with Yuffie.

"I'll be back" He mouthed to Tifa as the new new girl dragged him out.

Aerith laughed a little "Cloud has no escape from her huh?"

"Yea, ever since" Zack gave a small chuckle along too, but the two of them noticed Tifa. She was madly slicing the piece of meat. She shoved it in her mouth roughly and then shoved in another mouthful of mashed potatoes. Then she did it again, and again and again.

Somehow, the feeling of understanding was slowly leaving Tifa's system. Her blood was starting to boil again.

"Tifa, are you alright?" They knew she wasn't, she was jealous.

"Of course I am" Her voice was almost inaudible because of the food stuffed in her mouth. Zack and Aerith just sighed and continued eating.

Adorable?

A few minutes later, Cloud's cellphone rang. He must've left it, he had no choice after all, the ecstatic Yuffie was pulling him away.

Tifa took his phone and opened it to see who called. She did have the right to, right? She flipped his silver phone open. The screen was blue and the caller ID showed the name "Jesse" And the picture of a fairly pretty lady appeared by the side of the name.

Okay. Understanding gone. Red vision was back.

Jealousy's a bitch. And it was Tifa's turn to feel it.

Before Tifa could react, Cloud took the phone away from her; he must've gotten back from his and Yuffie's escapade.

"Hello?...Yea…Yea..We'll be there" Once done Cloud flipped the phone to close. He looked at Zack and he stood up.

"Well, off to racing then" Zack said sarcastically as he stood up and pushed Yuffie with him.

Tifa couldn't help but feel left out. Even Yuffie was going with them. Gah. These people had such a bond. Sure she was Cloud's childhood friend, but he had something else with these other people.

"Gotta go Teef, sorry. Well, I'll make it up to you, let's do homework at my place later, meet me in the park" Cloud smirked and then kissed her. What? Did he think that that was enough?

Tifa didn't have a chance to answer him back, he had already gone of. Tifa sighed.

"Hey, Tifa, I have to go too, I have Student government work to do" Aerith gave an unsure smile and then went off.

Tifa blew her bangs up. She was alone now. No Cloud. No friends even. She sighed one more time and resumed to attacking her cake.

Loving Cloud Strife takes a lot of..well..uhm. Love.

--

The Valkyrie and Fenrir roared the street of Midgar again. The four of them, Zack, Cloud, Aerith and Yuffie made there way to Sector 9.

It was Mako Reactor destruction time.

Blowing up stuff like those had already been normal to them. Yea, for Cloud and the rest, this was just like a large scale prank. Don't get me wrong though, Avalanche has its reasonable intentions, but it's just that the process of reaching it seems to be like playtime for these guys now. They were teenagers, the deserved somewhat normal lives.

--

Tifa was done using the toilet and was just about to go out of the cubicle when she heard two students come in, they were talking. Talking about Cloud.

Tifa stood inside, bit her lip and listened to their conversation.

"Hey, how many months did Cloud and Katherine go out?"

"About two?"

"Hn. That means we've held out longer"

"Sheesh, Jill, you're still not over him?"

"No, not really. I mean, the dude is hot, rich, athletic and not so bad in math, what else would you want? Every girl in this school wants to be with either him or Zack. But I'm telling you Wendy, he is just kind of unstable"

"I wouldn't mind that"

"Yea, well anyway, I've never seen him like this before"

"What?"

"The way he is with the hot new girl, he looks kind of serious with her…"

"Maybe, but who knows?"

"Well, we'll see how long she'll hold out" It's seems like the two girls were done using the powder room.

Tifa had already heard the door shut.

She made her way out of the cubicle and walked to one of the sinks. With exhausted eyes, she looked at the mirror; she wet her face and looked back. "How long will I hold out?" She whispered to her reflection.

--

A group of four huddled in a sort of abandoned building. There was a blue sketch on the rusty table. They seemed to have been planning.

It was Avalanche.

"All right, Aerith, Yuffie..do you know what you're going to do?"

"Yup, we're going to dress up as sluts and get the two front guards out of there" Yuffie said as she rolled her eyes, why couldn't Jesse do it for her this time? She was tired of being the slut decoy.

"And once we get in the warehouse, were going to lose their pants and get their communicating device so that they don't get to call reinforcements" Aerith said in a serious tone.

"I'll go hiding in the warehouse where Aerith will lead the dude, incase he tries something funny" Zack added, almost defensively.

"Right" Red XIII then looked at Cloud. "And you?"

"I'll be waiting by the side of the reactor, once Aerith and Yuffie gets the bastards out of the way, I'll creep in and shut the lights. When I've shut it down, I'll pound the living daylights off the guard nearest to the switch. He's the one who holds the security remote. Then I'll get a hold of that and then shut the system down. After that, I'll put the lights back up so Cait Sith and you can make it to the main control room and crack the thing."

"By that time, the other guards would be suspicious; Cid will take care of the west wing, Barret on the east, Vincent, south. Zack by that time, Aerith will be casting an illusion spell your assistance wouldn't be needed since Yuffie will be going to her. You and Cloud guard the north, the entrance, since that's where most of the guards are going to go to"

Zack nodded. "Roger"

"Jesse and Biggs will be on the look out"

"Okay, let's kick some Shinra ass" Cloud stood up and grabbed his sword and seethed it in his cool belt like sword container in his back. The rest did the same, they grabbed their weapons.

Clobber time.

Yea, this was a huge prank. For Cloud, aside from living this popular-rich-kid-school-boy life, he had this whole other things going on. He's a terrorist too for God sakes, props to him for juggling two lives. Plus Tifa.

--

**Ch0knaT: **Boo. Poor Tifa. But yey! The next chappie will have some action in it, let's see how Cloud kick Shinra butt. ;)

Warning, there may be grammatical errors. XD. Anyway, just tell me and I shall fix it.

Please do read and review. Criticisms are always welcome!

Thanks so much.

PS: It's so fun to use the word "gigglingly". XD


	15. When God Closes a Door,He Opens a Window

My Runny Nosed Hime

**Ch0knaT: **Here's another chappie. I hope you guys would enjoy it. Again I had fun, and I'm so glad that you people are still reading –huggles-

Thanks so much for the support. Whew. Chappie 15, it's been a long time since I've started writing this. Ehehe. Thanks sooooo much. :D

Here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter XV: When God Closes a Door, He Opens a Window**_

Today was a normal day for Louie. He got up, took a bath, ate his breakfast and went to work just like any other day. He wore his uniform, hung the laundry, got mail from his grandmother, and took out the trash just like any other day to. Nothing could go wrong.

Okay, so, why am I talking about Louie's life? Well, Louie happens to be one of the guards by the entrance of the Mako reactor, and I'm telling you, for him, this day is certainly not going to be a normal one.

Yea, unsuspecting Louie didn't realize that a group of _terrorists_ were waiting to surprise him. Right now he was just stationed in his usual spot. He was at the entrance of the gates leading to the reactor.

It wasn't a very huge place, wide, but not huge. It had good security systems, and it looked new. The green painted building was surrounded by wire fences and it was about two floors tall. There were entrances in the north, south, east and west, those directions at which Cloud, Vincent, Jesse, Biggs, Cid and Barret were semi-deployed in. They all just had to wait for Yuffie and Aerith's go signal.

While our tall black haired body guard, Louie, stood with his other tall black haired partner Joe, a red convertible car stopped right in front of them. Someone on high alert would find this suspicious, but as I've said, it was a normal day for Louie. Nothing to be suspicious about, he thought.

The two of them, Louie and Joe, casually walked towards the car. It must be their lucky break; in that car were two gorgeous young ladies.

Yuffie and Aerith.

The two girls went down the car. Both were wearing extremely short skirts. Aerith's was pink, Yuffie's was green. Their tops were nothing but spaghetti straps, Aerith's was a darker shade of pink, Yuffie's was a darker shade of green.

"E-excuse me, d-do you need something Ma'am?" the guard was sweating bullets as Aerith approached him. It was all too sexy for poor old Louie

Yuffie did the same with Joe, and Joe, had the same uneasy reaction.

Geez, I'm telling you, I'm having a hard time imagining the kiddy Yuffie and the all holy Aerith mooning these guards, but it was Avalanche work. Something normal for them.

--

Meanwhile, back in Midgar High, classes went on. Nothing but typical happened in the premise of the school.

Tifa had her head leaned up against her knuckles as she doodled in her notebook. It was their third to the last period and she wasn't really in the mood for listening to the teacher right now. She looked at Zack's seat, Aerith's seat and then Cloud's. They were still not there yet. The bored to death girl closed her eyes in tiredness.

_Why am I suddenly doubting him? I knew he had lots of 'dates' before and I knew every girl would like to be with him. I knew even before. It's not hard to believe him right now, in fact, I should be glad. He chose me. He trusts me and I know him better than anyone else. Why am I jealous all of the sudden? I'm jealous of Yuffie, of that Jill, of his other girlfriends. Shit._

Tifa banged her head again and again to her desk. She should really stop feeling these things. She shouldn't think this way, no not now.

Well, don't worry Tifa; all girlfriends have felt this in one certain point of a relationship. Right? But then again, she was with _the_ Cloud Strife.

--

By this time, I bet Louie would've guessed that today was not his normal day. He was now seated in computer chair of one of the old offices by the gate of the reactor. He found himself staring at a green eyed beauty.

"Now, let's get things started." Aerith walked to him and bent down to snake her arm down his back. Okay, it was kind of gross, but it was something she did normally, besides, nothing beyond this happened before, she was safe. Yea, Aerith was still, erm, how do I put this? Uhm. _Holy_.

The Cetra's hand went further down the man's back. She was getting closer and closer to the reinforcement remote by his back pants' pocket, but then Louie used his arm to push her towards him.

"Crap" She whispered inaudibly.

Damn. She didn't want to be anywhere nearer to this guy. But oh well, she just sighed and continued trying to reach his pocket.

"Got it" Aerith whispered as she stood up with the remote in her hands.

"Hey, hey, that's not a toy!" Okay, so Louie knows very well that this isn't a normal day.

"I know sir" She gave an innocent smile, but the guard was tough. Finally he became suspicious. He pulled a gun out of his pocket.

Poor him though, before he could do anything else, Zack, who had been behind one of the cabinets came up to him and elbowed the sensitive spot by his shoulder blade. Unfortunate Louie was now seeing double. He was getting woozie, his eyelids were getting heavier, his senses were blacking out. He lost control of his hands and dropped his gun to the floor.

"Who…are…you?" He managed look up and say to Zack before he passed out and fell on the floor.

"Her boyfriend, you bastard" Zack said looking down at his unconscious body. Zack never liked it when it was Aerith's turn to play the slut role.

But,oh wow! What a pleasant surprise. If they anyone else were in the room, Zack wouldn't have said that.

"_Her boyfriend, you bastard"_

Man, those two are good in keeping secrets. Well, they were better than Cloud and Tifa at least. Hah! I knew it, there was something between those two. Unfortunately, this is a very unconventional way for you to learn that, but anyway, isn't that such nice news?

Aerith took her jacket from Zack who was apparently carrying it. She put the more conservative piece of clothing on her. "Well, you better tell the others we have the remote"

Zack nodded, he pressed something on his ear piece communicator thingy (which I don't know the exact name of) and told everyone that the first remote was with them.

"Now to wait for Yuffie's go signal…"

Speaking of Yuffie, how are she and Joe doing?

It appears that, Joe was now lying on the floor on the floor, something like thick needles were punctured all over his back. The dude was completely drowsed off and Yuffie stood there, a few inches from his body, smiling. She had one of the remotes in her hands too.

She pressed something on her ear piece.

"I got it!" She grinned and then ran of to go with Aerith who was now going to cast a sort of protection slash illusions spell.

Her message went through all of their communicators, including the one that belonged to Cloud, who was waiting for that go signal. It was his time to move in.

The blond smirked as he heard the message. It was his turn. Now that the guards were away the entrance gate and that their reinforcements were deprived, he had all the opportunity he needed to get in.

With one jump, Cloud managed to hold on to the ledge of the top of the gate. While his hands were latched on them, he pressed his weight on it so that he could get over. He used the same principle as in a typical pommel horse exercise. Once he had successfully done that, he ran towards the side of the entrance door and leaned against the wall near it. He had to be careful, a guard was patrolling. He waited a few seconds for the sentinel to be off sight before he used a phony ID to unlock the front door.

Once he got in, Cloud quickly made his way to the first door nearest to the entrance. That was the light control room. He opened the passage and then grabbed hold of the enormous lever; he easily pulled it down and suddenly all the light went off.

"The lights are out" He said through the ear piece. "Now to batter these guys in the dark"

When he went out of the room, Cloud immediately spotted the guard.

"Idiot" Cloud couldn't help but say that since the guard had a cigarette. Who would have a cigarette like that in the dark? It would just make his enemies spot him easier.

The chocobo head smirked. I can't describe how Cloud's attack looked like since it was all black, but I'll tell you this, there was nothing but a sound of a sword being unsheathed and a thump of a body hitting the floor.

The next scene was that the lights were back on, the security systems were already shut down and Cloud had a remote in his hands too.

"The security's down." After hearing the message, Zack ran off to the north wing. It was time for him to back up Cloud, because at this point, the other guards have figured that an attack was going on. And the North wing wasn't a good place to be in.

As Zack, Cloud, Cid, Vincent and the others were busy diverging the attention and fighting off the surprisingly large amounts of guards. Cait Sith and Nanaki managed to stealthily make their way to the now, un-alarm protected control room. They started destabilizing the system.

Meanwhile, Aerith was on the roof top of the office where Louie's unconscious body lay. She stood in the middle of something which looked like a transmutation circle, while Yuffie sat on the ledge, looking quite bored.

"I wanted to be in the action"

"This is action Yuffie" Aerith managed to say.

Yuffie sighed. There was obviously no action there, she was basically sitting while watching Aerith stand still as she chanted words she couldn't even understand. The ninja took a pair of binoculars to watch all the fight scenes. That would kill some time.

On the west was Cid, the fight had already moved to the outside of the reactor. The airship engineer used this huge spear to fend them of; he barely used the tip though. Yuffie thought it looked kind of funny since he looked like he was handling an overly long baton. He expertly spun it around while the two senseless sentinels tried to go near him.

The ninja girl then shifted to the east side, Barret's side. Well, there seems to be no action there anymore, the gun man just stood. His battle was over, it was safe to assume this since two guards were on the floor and he was standing in a relaxed manner. They had no match against his huge arm gun anyway.

Next, Yuffie tried to focus her view on the south but the reactor was covering it. Too bad, that was Vincent's side. She liked watching Vincent. The giggled as she imagined him running around with his read cloak flowing through the wind as he moved.

In the north, Zack and Cloud were back to back. Red XIII was right; this was where the bulk of the guards/ SOLDIERS would go to. The two didn't need help though.

"Ready?" Zack asked Cloud

"Whenever you are…"

Both of them nodded and both lounged to their attackers. Three or four or five of them were taking against the two, but it didn't matter how many they were. Both wielded their seemingly disproportioned huge swords expertly. It was their game, they were in control.

As the guards went to them faster, Cloud once again divide his sword in two, this was so he could cover more directions. Zack on the other hand momentarily stabbed his to the ground so that he could use his bare fists and legs. He was always better off at using martial arts. It felt freer.

--

Tifa stared at the clock a few inches above Professor Hojo's bloated head. It was already their last subject and unexpectedly she somehow wanted to do homework with Cloud, that is, if he came. This time she wouldn't wait for him you know.

Her eyes started drooping as she watched the thinnest hand move second by second by second. Everything just seemed to be going extremely slow. When did seconds take this long?

Tifa's eyes narrowed as finally, it was the last 30 seconds of class.

Last 20 seconds.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

The sound of the opening gates of heaven, I mean, school bell resounded. Hojo said his last few words and let the class out. The students picked up their things and moved to the exit. Some were hastily doing it and some were lazily doing it. Tifa conformed to the latter.

She wearily made her way to the hall, and much to her surprise, Cloud was already waiting by the stairs.

"You're back early" Tifa said plainly as she walked towards the blonde.

"Well I promised to be back didn't I?" Cloud smirked and then kissed her, but the young lady didn't react, she just gave a small smile.

"We should go now, it's gonna get dark soon" She smiled a little bit again and then lead their way down the stairs.

This was odd. She didn't even ask how things went. She didn't kiss back. She didn't look at all happy even.

_What's wrong with Tifa?_

The pair had made their way to Fenrir which was hidden behind a wide tree nearest to the school gate. Along the process of getting there, they didn't have a single conversation. It was Cloud who tried to initiate conversations though, he asked her questions and opened up topics, but Tifa just answered with a monotonous yeses or noes or a hn's. Sometimes she would just let out a small smile as if pretending she was listening.

Cloud didn't try to further trail for Tifa's responses though. He knew that she was tired, and maybe she just wanted some rest. He felt uneasy though, last time she went close to acting this way, he had to be forced to lie and tell her he was racing.

The two of them mounted Fenrir. Nothing changed except for the fact that Tifa didn't lean up against him. She simply held on the seat without even touching Cloud's back. And of course, the blond missed the warmth, but then again, he had no choice but to comply. He didn't want fight again.

In the elevator, when they were going up to his room, Cloud attempted to hold Tifa's hand, but as his hand went near hers, she moved her arm to her back so that he couldn't reach. Whether she did it deliberately or coincidentally, there was this little stab that hit Cloud's insides.

_Why's she like this?_

When the two entered his unit, Tifa made her way directly to the coffee table, she sat down without saying a word and she started to take her school things out. She didn't mean to look rude, but she just wanted to get things done right now.

"Hey Tifa, I'm just going to change clothes okay?" Tifa nodded and Cloud asked as he went to his room. Tifa was still in the same spot.

Cloud picked up a simple black shirt from his closet and wore it. He changed into shorts too. The whole time he was wondering what was going on with Tifa. He was starting to worry about her. What could've happened?

Just as Cloud was about to open the doorknob, he stopped to acknowledge a stream of thought that ran through his head.

_Does she know?_

Anxiously the blond shrugged the thought off. It wasn't possible for her to know. He didn't want it to be possible.

Chocobo-kun made his way down the hall and sat down the opposite of Tifa. The coffee table was short so both of them needed chairs; they just sat on the floor. They would've _sat comfortably on the floor_ if there wasn't such a huge tension bubble surrounding them.

"Let's start then?" Tifa said with her forced smile again.

For the first 10 minutes of their homework doing, the couple must've wasted half the time on passing the materials and notebooks.

Cloud had enough. "You know, it would be better if you sat beside me, that way we don't have to waste so much time passing things around"

Tifa stopped from writing her notes and looked at him. "This is fine." After saying her three word line, she resumed writing.

"I'm not going to bite you know" Cloud answered in a rather frustrated tone.

Tifa rolled her eyes, got her things and moved beside him. "There. You happy?"

"What's wrong with you today?" He wanted to be mad, but he just ended up being worried.

Tifa on the other just hand continued writing. They spent five more minutes working quietly 'til the raven-haired girl said something while answering question number five.

"So, did you have nice time with Yuffie?" She finally blurted out. Yea, that was right. With that one statement Cloud figured it out. The blond felt a surge of emotions. Relief perhaps? Or maybe an ego boost?

Okay, but instead of handling the situation like an adult, who he's far from being, Cloud smirked and looked at Tifa. Tifa stared right back in confusion.

"You're jealous?"

Tifa nodded. Now, she kind of regretted ever telling him in the first place. Well, at least she was honest. After all, they did have an understanding when they talked that night in the well right?

Again, only if Cloud understood things the way Tifa did, things would be much better. He should be more like her when it came to the relationship.

Cloud smirked again. He sort of tucked his elbow together and he swayed his upper body while chanting "she's jealous...she's jealous...she's jealous" in a sing song. With a flick of a finger, he seemed to have forgotten all that sick-worried-about-being-busted feeling. God. How can he let go of being uneasy and guilty just like that. If I was him, I'd actually feel worse, but noooooooo, Cloud could afford keeping lies and secrets.

"She's jealous...she's jealous..."

It aggravated the young lady more.

"I'm not kidding Cloud" She threw her pen to the table and smacked Cloud. That was enough to stop his dancing.

"Ow" He said, rubbing the part of his arm that she hit.

Tifa just stared at him, expecting him to say something.

Cloud sighed in defeat.

"Okay, so why would you be jealous?"

"That's not even a proper question. Yuffie was all over you and I heard other girls talk about you too…"

"Yuffie's just like my sister, she can get jumpy, but you have to understand, she's my friend to, like Aerith" Cloud rubbed his temple.

Tifa sighed. "Okay then, Yuffie's forgiven. But how about those other girls from school?"

"Tifa, those others are nothing…"

"Is that what you said to Jill or Katherine or Maria Viva la Slutty too?" Okay, the last name wasn't a real person, but yea.

"Come on Teef…"

"Cloud, back at school, I heard them talk about how long I'd hold out…I don't want to be left by you…It's suicide to make myself look this low, but I'm just being honest" Tifa looked down on the floor

"Look Tifa, I'll never leave you, not unless you want me too."

"but-" As she said that, she took her eyes away from the floor and turned to him.

"Ah ah ah." Cloud put his hand to cover her lips and leaned his forehead against hers. He smirked "On second thought, I'll never leave you, even if you wanted me to" Tifa couldn't help but smile; he was such a smooth talking guy.

"You know how much I love you right?" Cloud said again.

His companion sort of sneered. She was still feeling bad, but playing around with him would help her feel a little better. "No, how much then?"

The blond got the joke "Okay, well, when we were kids, I used to watch you by your window, that's why I was always amazingly appear on time when you go down to play" Tifa giggled a little bit, she didn't know that one.

"Then I beat up that Johnny kid, without you knowing since he was plotting to give you a bracelet" Her heart well, fluttered. She was grinning now. Tifa once again: LOST. She once again played the submissive role. And she hated herself for being that kind of girl when it came to Cloud.

Tifa has to work on that.

Cloud then, got serious. The playful expression turned into one filled with sincerity "Then,I joined Soldier and tried to do my best to impress you. I wanted to be worthy of you. You know, i wanted to be, that tall handsome man who you could always rely on. All this time I thought of you. I outgrew a lot of things, but that didn't include you. I wished so hard that it was me who got hurt when that bridge collapsed. You're more a part of me than anyone else I know…"

"Okay okay" Tifa kissed him, took her forehead away from and then stood up "You are forgiven, you should stop before you burst into tears again you cry baby" Cloud glared at her. She laughed.

The blond didn't like it when she used his crying against him. I mean, they did share that quite intimate moment, it was sweet, but it still crushed his balls whenever he thought about crying in front of Tifa or any other person for that matter.

"I'm kidding, I meant, you should stop before I start melting"

"That's better" Cloud said as he put his arms to the back of his head and lied on the floor.

"But Cloud, if I see you with another girl, you better say good bye to having a fruitful family line" She then walked to the bathroom.

It was already ten minutes and Tifa wasn't back yet.

_What could be taking her so long?_

Cloud then stood up and walked to the bathroom. Much to his astonishment, the door wasn't locked, in fact, it was slightly open.

When he went in, he saw a Tifa who was standing on top of a bowl. She was trying to look for something in the cabinet right above it. It looked pretty weird.

"What are you doing?" Cloud asked in total puzzlement.

"Looking for the hair gel you use, I've always been curious about that." She smiled at him.

"This is all natural babe" With that Cloud went to her and playfully carried her out the bathroom.

"Put me down!" Tifa snickeringly said.

Well, it's nice to see them getting along again. I guess one of the many issues have been closed. One door has been closed.

--

Later that evening, Tifa sneakily closed the front door of their huge house. She stealthily moved to climb up the stairs. It was already 9.30 in the evening; she knew she was in for a lot of trouble.

Just as she was about to climb the first step of the stairs, the lights opened up. She turned and the sight of her angry father greeted her

"Where have you been Tifa?"

She didn't want to go through this again. She ignored her father's voice and took a few steps up the stairs.

"Tifa, I'm talking to. You where were you?!" His voice was a little louder now.

She continued walking up the stairs and her father followed her, he kept on asking where she went. I guess, he somehow had a clue. Eventually, the distance between Tifa and Mr. Lockheart lessened and it was enough for him to grab hold of his daughter's arm. He made her turn to him.

"You were with Strife weren't you?"

Tifa closed her and she took a deep breath. She had enough of her father's drama. She knew that whether she said it or not, he couldn't do anything to take Cloud away from her.

She breathed out and looked at him with a straight feisty gaze. "Yes dad, I was with Cloud."

See, when God closes a door, he opens a window.

--

**Ch0knaT: CHEESE  
**

Whaa. I have discovered that writing cheese is actually harder than writing fight scenes. XDD. Well, that's it. I hope you liked it. :)

OMG. Tifa told her father? What will happen? Will this finally stop the two lovebirds? Ho noes. NO! Nothing shall stop them! Cloud would do anything. THIS IS SPARTA!

Gahaha. I'm kidding. ;)

There may be errors so just point 'em out and I'll fix them. Thanks so much again. . Criticisms are always welcome.

Please do read and review.- hands out cookies – (finally, I got more) XD


	16. Unusual Date

**Ch0knaT: **Hello again! Wee, I'm on an update role. XD. I'm excited about this chappie. I hope you guys will like it. It's I found it sooo much fun to write, but I found it very risky, there were parts where I didn't know if I was going overboard. XD

**Tifa07: Thanks so much! Weee. She helped me with this chapter. Now it's awesome! :D. Oh, and sorry I uploaded the wrong file at first. ToT. **

**Thank you very very very much x 643774. –huggles-**

Thanks so much for the reviews in the last chapter. I shall do my best to keep all your interests up. :)

Well, chappie 16, my favorite number. XD

Here goes…

**_My Runny Nosed Hime_**

**_Chapter XVI: Unusual Date_**

_She breathed out and looked at him with a straight feisty gaze. "Yes dad, I was with Cloud."_

"How many times have I told you not to see that shameful boy?" Tifa's father was shouting now.

"Dad, don't you think it's too much? You don't even know him!" She said with the same anger as her father. After the fuming exchange, she turned around; she took a few hasty steps, but then, she had one more thing to say. She turned back to her dad. "And dad, Cloud's not a shameful!" She continued walking.

Of course, her father wouldn't let go of this conversation, especially when his daughter was talking to him in such ill manner. He darted up the staircase and went after her, but then as he reached the door, she banged it close. It was her mistake though that she didn't lock it.

With one turn of the knob, Mr. Lockheart walked in and he saw a very frustrated Tifa sitting on the bed. He approached her. "Do you know what he's capable of Tifa? Do you? Because if you do, and still decide to be with him, then I'd be very disappointed"

Her eyes widened.

"What the hell are you talking about?! Cloud is..Cloud is" She couldn't find the right words. Yes, Cloud has his faults, but he loved Tifa. He showed her something that nobody else had. He was always there. He was a genuine person. "Damn it. Why am I putting up with this? It's clear that an arrogant man like you can't accept him" She slammed her fists on her bed.

"I'm just protecting you Tifa!" His father still stood with the same stature, the raven haired girl's remark seemed to have been pushed aside

"Protect me? Well, you're doing such an awesome job then" She said sarcastically. I mean, I don't think leaving you're 3 year old daughter in an unstable area is what some people would coin as protecting. I'm telling you, the only time he used protection was in his and Tifa's mother's honeymoon. Apparently, it didn't work either.

"You, you just don't know Cloud, you just don't" Tifa said again it rather helplessly. She bit her lip. She wanted to cry, but she didn't want to give in. Not in front of her father. She wanted to show him how strong she was, how strong she became after he left them.

"Well do you Tifa?" His dad had gone calmer too.

"I do. I may not know everything, but I'll know he's better of a man than you'll ever be!" Tifa meant that. She had so much discontent with her father. He left her, he left his family. Who was he to tell her what to do? Who was he to suddenly care? Who was he to judge Cloud?

Mr. Lockheart sighed. He gives up. "Well then, I assume you know about these." The adult threw to her a brown envelope to her and then calmly walked towards the door, he opened it and from the outside he gently closed it.

The teenager spent a few seconds staring at the envelope on her lap. It seems to contain several pages of paper. On the top right corner was a label, it said "Cloud Strife".

_What's this?_

Tifa found herself being afraid of what it contained. What about Cloud could be in there? What is there that she doesn't know about yet?

_Cloud's totally honest with me right?_

Tifa shook her head and put the envelope down on her bed. The raven haired girl stood up and got a towel and some clothes. She just needed a bath right now. She needed something to sooth her, to relax her. This day, these past few days were just too stressing.

She made her way to the bathroom. The young lady took off her clothes, stepped in to the shower and turned the water on. The beads of water hitting her body helped a little bit, but, her head was still feeling heavy.

A part of her was regretting that she met Cloud again. What if she didn't? What if they didn't remember? Things would've been a lot easier.

Maybe, they just weren't meant to be. Everything just jumbled up when they came together. But no, she loved Cloud. I cannot put it in a less cheesy way, but Cloud completed her. Just thinking of him smile or thinking of the things he said to her made her want to be with him more than anything else. Remembering the way he touched her and kissed her made her realize that she'd never want it in any other way.

Once done with her shower, Tifa dried herself and walked out to her room. She sat changed her clothes and sat in front of her dresser. There, she dried and combed her hair. She couldn't help but take glances at the envelope through the mirror though. Tifa let out a defeated sigh. She stopped grooming her hair and walked towards her bed. She sat down and stared at the intriguing object again.

As if she couldn't control her actions, her hands made their way to the opening of the envelope.

_No. I'm going to wait for Cloud. We'll look at it together._

The raven haired girl nodded to herself and put it down.

_"I..uh..I and Zack race"_

_"Wait a sec Teef"_

_"Sorry I'm late"_

Tifa put her hands to her face. Maybe she had to see it now. Maybe she didn't need to wait for Cloud.

The raven haired girl made up her mind. There would be no harm right? There's nothing in that envelope that could change anything. She grabbed the envelope, opened it and took the papers out.

Her eyes widened.

_Liar…_

--

Cloud was stirring in his bed. He couldn't sleep. He was smiling as he looked up his ceiling. Today was a nice day. He remembered the _small_ fight he and Tifa had; he was glad that was over.

Being her boyfriend and knowing that she loved him made him blissful. He was happy now; with her by his he could do anything.

Still feeling restless, Cloud grabbed his cell phone and texted his Hime. He couldn't wait 'til tomorrow. He just had to talk to her again.

--

Tifa was lying on her bed. The papers which used to be in the envelope were now scattered around her covers. She had her arms resting on her forehead, just like Cloud, she was staring at the ceiling, but unlike him, she wasn't smiling. Confusion was all that reflected through her eyes.

_Beep_

Tifa slowly turned her head to face the beeping phone on the side of her pillow. She used her arm which was resting on her head to grab the phone. She flipped it open

**1 message received**

She pressed the enter button and saw that it was Cloud.

**Hey, Teef, I know you might be sleeping already, but I didn't get to tell you that I wanted to go out tomorrow. Meet me at the park at around 10. Night. Love you. ;)**

The raven haired girl just put down the phone, grabbed the pillow, pressed it against her face and let out a shriek.

"DAMN YOU STRIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!!

--

The next morning, Cloud sat down on one of the benches in the empty park. He kept looking at his watch from time to time.

_Why isn't she here yet?_

He was worried that her dad didn't let her go out or that she had other appointments or that she didn't receive the text. She didn't reply after all.

Cloud, looked by the curve for the 75th time.

It seems like 75's a charm.

He smiled. Tifa came.

Cloud couldn't have felt more relieved to see her walking towards him. She was wearing Skinny jeans, green flip-flops and a sort of lose off shoulder green and yellow striped top. She also had long beady necklaces, bangles on her arms and a headband on her head of course.

The blond stood up and walked to her. He still had that silly smile on his face. When they were near each other Cloud greeted her. "Hey, why are you late?"

But instead of a wonderful welcome…

"Oh, hey Cloud, why are you an asshole?" She said mockingly as she raised her hands up to slap him but his quick reflexes caught her.

"What the hell?"

"Don't you 'what the hell me?'!" She pulled her wrist roughly out of Cloud's hold.

'Tifa, I don't know what's going on!"

What a way to ruin his day.

Tifa licked her lips, looked away briefly and stared right back at him. She was so mad. "Stop playing dumb. Do you think I'm that stupid?"

"Tifa, seriously…" While he was talking his date looked for something in her bag, she wasn't even listening. "TIFA!" He tried to grab her attention.

She finally looked back at him and threw him what she got from the handbag: His files.

She roughly tossed it to him. The papers flew around, some fell on the ground, and some fell on Cloud's chest. He managed to get hold of some pieces which were already crumpled.

His bright blue eyes widened as he saw what was written on them. It was his personal information. His birthday, his school records, and also about his father and mother, and even his whereabouts in Avalanche. His records in Soldier were published too. Not only that, there were also pictures of him on a glass like tube, of his eyes when his mako side ran loose, and his Avalanche comrades. Even pictures of him kicking ass. They were all there.

"Tifa-"

"How are you going to explain that now huh?" She pressed her finger accusingly to his chest. "You lied!"

"Tifa, I'm sorry"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Na-uh. She wasn't going to cry, she was much too frustrated for that right now. "Even if you were in Avalanche nothing would change, whether you'd be some sort of maniac I'd still be here Cloud!" Her words kept spilling. "I trusted you, I told you everything. Do I look that useless Cloud?! That incompetent? If you didn't trust me that much, you shouldn't have told me you loved me in the first place"

_"Only if you love her to that level of trust"_

Cloud looked down. She was right. Zack was right. He didn't even love her enough to trust her. He felt like a hypocrite, no, he was a hypocrite. Just yesterday he told Tifa how much he loved her, and now, now she's half way to tears.

"Cloud, it didn't have to be complicated, is-is this a game to you?"

"NO!" the blond was losing his cool too. "Tifa, I'm not strong enough! Not for the two of us, I can't protect you! I'm just not strong enough…" His voice gradually went down when he ended his sentence.

"That, that is the most insulting thing I've ever heard. I'm not extra baggage Cloud! Is that all I am to you?"

"Tifa, you don't know how bad it feels to watch you back then"

"Stop bringing in the past!"

Cloud opened his lips to say something but a voice interrupted them.

"Bravo" the two of them bolted and turned their heads to where the sly voice was coming from.

"My my Cloud, what's this mess?" It was Kadaj.

The two just stared at him and soon after, another silver haired man appeared on the other side. This caused Cloud and Tifa to go back to back.

"Tifa, I want you to run" Cloud slightly turned his head to whisper to Tifa.

"Oh I'm not leaving you, you ungrateful jerk" Tifa went on her fighting stance.

"Don't be stubborn"

"You know I'm not helpless Cloud"

"Please, I don't want you to get hurt"

"Shut up"

"Tifa I won't forgive myself if any-"

"I'm not excess weight!" She wanted to prove herself. Tifa lounged to the silver haired man, who apparently is named Loz.

The chocobo head wanted to stop her but instead, he stared in disbelief and surprise. She was actually in control.

Tifa was expertly kicking and assaulting the on defense Loz. She flexibly and lightly jumped around to hit him. Her agility was also surprising; she could be airborne and still manage to do a sort of combo with 3 to 4 strikes. The silver haired man couldn't even get a chance to strike back.

"When did she?"

Cloud would've still continued watching but then Kadaj attacked him. In the nick of time, he used his arm to block the katana. Blood started dripping from his skin. With one pushed of the sword he was tossed a few meters away.

"Fuck" Cloud landed and tried to get up as the swirls of dust started disappearing. He wiped his lips. Ick. Dust got in his mouth.

"Get up Cloud!" Tifa coped to say from the other side of the park.

He sort of watched her again and this time he was admiring how she moved. It…It was beautiful. No matter what drama happened earlier, he managed to smile at her fighting form. She was right, she wasn't excess baggage.

The blond stood up and regained his stance, but then Kadaj tried to slash him from above.

Cloud leaped backwards to avoid it and luckily he landed near Fenrir. Cloud clenched his fist and used the side of it to bang the compartment open. With that 'tap' the sword inventory spread out, Cloud took two of his swords and attached them together.

"You're going to have to pay for that Kadaj" Cloud ran to him, his sword was sort of raking the ground but as he came in a closer proximity, he lifted it, leaped and tried to hit Kadaj from above. Apparently, his silver haired enemy was skilled enough to dodge it, but that didn't matter, he can take on him any day.

As the fight continued, Cloud and Tifa found themselves in a back to back position again.

"When did you get this good?" Spike-head asked Tifa while blocking Kadaj's katana.

"I continued training with master Zangan" Tifa said with a smirk. Somehow, the fighting eased her she wasn't as mad.

After telling her secret to Cloud, Tifa took on the offensive, and left the back-to-back position.

She jumped forward and hit Loz solid on the face, Loz got shaken a little bit but he recovered quickly. Tifa didn't give him a chance to attack though, she kept giving alternate punches and kicks trying to hit several vital parts. His head, chest, legs and of course, his..erm. sensitive man part. "Die, damn it"

Cloud on the other hand was exchanging slashes with Kadaj. He backed out and tried to do a triple beam but it didn't hit his opponent. He then ran again, but this time, Kadaj got him. With one strong whipping action, a blast of wind coming from his sword caused the blond to come flying to the garbage can. He slammed to it, but he quickly got up.

Tifa on the other hand attempted to kick loss from above, but instead he grabbed hold of her foot and spun her, he threw her to that same direction as Cloud went, but unlike Cloud she controlled her fall. She spread her legs apart, sort of bent, she crouched and she held her hands down the ground so that she skidded. This was so that she ended up not slamming to the garbage.

Tifa was still in that position when the inertia stopped and she reached just in front Cloud. He was holding his sword up. If this was a movie, I'd take a screenshot right there. Cloud was on the left side, slightly behind Tifa. Tifa was on the right, crouched a few steps in front of him. Their stances put together looked cool.

"You alright?" Tifa asked without looking back, she was still kind of cold; her vision was still focused on the two enemies

"I'm fine..hey, I'm really sor-"

"Forgiven, but be ready for me when we're done clobbering them" She said plainly, but finally she turned back and smiled a very small bit. However, Tifa wasn't done with her lecture yet.

Cloud wanted to speak as he looked at her, with her hair unruly and her sweat glistening, he couldn't help that tingly feeling. This was the wrong time, but again, hormones and teenagers aren't a good mix.

Her clothes were still on but there were rips and grime marks, it was astounding that she could fight in that attire.

"Damn it Tifa, do you know how hot you are to me right now?"

Tifa smirked "I know dear" With that she started running to take on Loz again.

Cloud followed fight behind her.

Tifa was busy trying to hit Loz, she attempted an upper-cut but as she ducked down to do it, the silver haired man used his knee to hit her. This caused her to fly up and eventually fall on the ground. It was sort of rough, but she immediately looked around as she landed. Loz was nowhere there, she looked over to Cloud.

That bastard was, running to attack her boyfriend from behind!

"Cloud, behind you!"

The blonde swiftly swung his sword and it caused Kadaj to move a few meters back. After doing that, he faced the other side just in time to block Loz. Little did he know that right behind him Kadaj was airborne and was about to stab him, luckily, Tifa was there, she was in the air too and she kicked Kadaj from the side.

"Play fair you sick dumbass" She walked towards his fallen body and straddled him. She straddled him to punch him of course. It was blatantly innocent.

The raven haired actions were caught by the side of Cloud's eye while he was blocking Loz's weak kicks. "Tifa! I can see you!" He was becoming infuriated. What she's doing was uncalled for! Aside from being combat partners right now, they were still a couple. Cloud didn't like the thought of her straddling anyone else.

"It's alright Cloud"

Oh no it wasn't.

As if Cloud got a boost of strength, he maneuvered his sword to slash Loz out, and then he quickly inserted a fire materia and blasts a fire ball to Kadaj.

"Get of him Teef!"

His girlfriend just laughed and stood up.

It was over. Well, jealousy can have its advantages.

With both of their enemies knocked out. Tifa walked towards Cloud but then this green sphere enveloped her, she couldn't move. Her eyes widened. Suddenly she felt numb and weak.

"Aah!"

Chocobo-kun immediately turned to her stunned form.

"Tifa!" He was going to run to her but then, he heard someone clapping. He turned to the monkey bars, and quite humorously, Sephiroth was standing above it with his arms crossed. Cloud would've laughed if only the love of his life wasn't trapped in a scary green fizzing bubble of doom.

"Shit" Just when he thought things couldn't get worse.

"That was a good show Strife, but not good enough" Sephiroth jumped from his previous location and walked to the glaring Cloud.

This is where the real fight starts.

--

**Ch0knaT: **Ehehe. Mmm. I do think this is rather short. I hope that all the action will compensate. And I hope you guys like the treat I put. It's sort of an expected surprise. Expected surprise?! XD

I like it when Tifa kicks ass. Hn. Sephy had to be a moment ruiner. Owell. I wonder what happens with him ad Cloudy boy. :o

Thanks so much for reading. Please do review. Criticisms are always welcome. There may be errors, just point them out and I shall fix 'em. Thanks in advanced. ;)


	17. Burdens

**Ch0knaT:** Hellooooo everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews for the last chap. :)

Mmm, here goos, chapter 17. :D. I hope you guys will enjoy. I'm not sure about the composition though. Gah. Sorry.

Here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter XVII: Burdens**_

"That was a good show Strife" Sephiroth jumped from his previous location, landed breezily and walked to the glaring Cloud.

"I haven't regained my all strength yet_**, **_but Ithought I should give you a visit" The silver haired man circled Cloud. The blond on the other hand just fixed a disgusted gaze on him.

The villain walked to Tifa who was watching in some sort of fear. This man's presence was just scary. His cat like eyes would just send shivers up your spine, specially when you looked straight into it.

Death. It was what reflected through his eyes.

Sephiroth put his arm through the bubble and brushed the back of his hand across Tifa's cheek. His strokes were rather gentle, but she hated his touch. Though the raven haired girl was in fear, she still looked at him with stubborn strong eyes. She wanted to curse him, but she couldn't. She couldn't speak, for some reason; it felt like something was stuck to her throat. I can't tell if it was from frustration or fear, but whether it was both or neither, the emotion was enough to render such a strong willed person like her speechless.

"Don't touch her!" A very frustrated Cloud yelled.

He still kept touching her.

"Don't touch her!" More frustration.

No avail.

"I said, don't fucking touch her!"

"Hn." Sephiroth held the joint between her neck and jaw. He pulled her up, causing her to do tip-toes. Her face scrounged up, what he was doing to her was painful. He turned her head to different angles, as if examining all her features and then threw her to the ground. Tifa landed quite roughly, small mists of dust circled her as she fell. She let out a groan.

What Sephiroth did was uncalled for. Hn, maybe he is in gay love with Cloud, and he envied Tifa. I'm kidding.

Cloud hissed.

"So is she important to you?" Sephiroth, with a smirk, walked towards him.

No reply. Cloud just fixed his angry gaze.

The silver haired man laughed. "Then maybe I should grasp the pleasure of taking her away from you…"

"Over my dead body"

"Gladly" With that, Sephiroth lounged to him. Just in time, Cloud held his sword to block the incoming Masamune.

The pressure of the two swords clashing was intense. Cloud's arms were already shivering Sephiroth's however still seemed cool. He still had lots of reserved energy. With one strong push, Sephiroth sent Cloud flying to the air and then rolling on the ground. He ended up about 20 feet away from where he used to be. That's got to hurt.

It was such an unbelievable display of strength.

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed. She still remained in her position. She didn't want to though, was worried. She wanted to kick some silver haired ass.

"Stand up!" Sephiroth demanded. Cloud used his elbows to lever himself up, but he just felt so tired. He tried it several times before he could balance himself up. It took the blond a while to recover. He was shaking.

Finally, he wobbly took his stance and raised his sword.

"Whatever happened to you?" Sephiroth said in the most arrogant tone as he walked towards him.

"You just don't know when to stop yapping huh?" Cloud was done shaking. He wanted to pulverize him; this silver haired man was becoming to much a pain in the ass. The now hot headed blond ran towards him in an attempt to stab him.

With his speed, he couldn't miss.

But, he did. With one cool, almost casual sidestep, Sephiroth dodged by an inch. And if you think that was awesome, allow me to tell you this, he did it with his eyes closed. This caused Cloud to run a few meters past him. He stopped his tracks and skidded.

"Agh!" He went at it again. Missed again.

Again.

Again.

And in the process of doing this Sephiroth spoke. "You used to be so strong Strife" Despite hearing his insults, the blond still continued attacking him from different sides.

"If you were like who you had been, you could've beaten me with one strike" After saying those words, Sephiroth finally stopped the casual 'moving over' evasions. He swung his long long long long long long long long long long sword and it caught Cloud's. Cloud jumped back to free himself from the pressure between the two weapons, but Sephiroth followed with different slashes. Chocobo-kun had no choice but to take the defensive side.

"Shit"

"Do you know why Cloud? Why you're so weak now?" Suddenly the silver haired man disappeared and SURPRISE! He was behind Cloud. He used the unsharpened side of his blade to drive Cloud, well, flying out again.

"It's because before, you weren't afraid of dying." Cloud stood up. Barely. "And now, this girl, she just gave you a reason to live didn't she?"

Then he went on again. Sephy lounged and started slashing like crazy. It was getting more and more difficult for Cloud to block.

_Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit._

Sephiroth found a defense hole. And just like that, blood drew from Cloud's shoulder. He stopped attacking as Cloud held his injured body part.

"Cloud…" Tifa, who was still trapped in t he bubble really wanted to get out now. She kept on banging the translucent bubble. She hated watching him like that. She hated how Sephiroth talked to him.

"She gave you a weakness"

Oh . That hit it. Tifa's eyes grew larger.

"_She gave you a weakness" _

That was the last thing Hime needed to hear. Her knees were failing her now. Too much. She slumped down the sandy ground, looked down, and raked the soil. Her eyes were glued to the land.

"You should learn to let go of your burdens Cloud."

_He has to let go of me…_

Tifa slowly looked up. She was ready to see a fallen Cloud. She thought it was inevitable. Sephiroth was just too strong.

But something surprised her. From his fallen-on the-ground-form, Cloud grabbed his wide sword and stabbed it to the ground. He slowly got up, using the sword as an anchor. There was something different though, something that wasn't there before. There was a different aura. Somehow a sort of green light mixed with dust was circling him. As he was standing up, Tifa couldn't see his eyes, his hair was blocking it, but as soon as he got himself stable he raised his head.

Green.

It was those green orbs again. The green waves started streaming in his eyes again. Just like that night he fought with Zack.

Now this is what I'm talking about and what everyone else is waiting for. Hn. Tifa seems to be a successful trigger.

Sephiroth smirked.

"Tifa is not a weakness" He said quite weakly. Only Sephiroth could've heard it. The blond started running to him. This time he didn't miss. His strikes were a lot more powerful now, a lot faster, a lot more agile. Sephiroth started walking backwards as Cloud's hits became rougher.

Sephiroth didn't give up yet though. When the two blades clashed again, he thrust it, causing Cloud to fly out again. This time though, he didn't fall, he smoothly landed with his legs bent and then raced to his opponent again.

Got it!

Cloud, instead of using two arms to hold the sword and instead of using it as the main point of attacking, he utilized it as a diversion. As Sephiroth blocked the hit, Cloud's other hand grabbed hold of the silver haired man's collar.

He held him up and tossed him to the jungle gym. He then paced towards the now sitting Sephy form and pointed the tip of his sword against his neck.

"One wrong move and your neck is fucked" Cloud adjusted the sword and forced it a little bit more against his skin.

But instead of the fear he expected Sephiroth to display, the bastard laughed.

Cloud pressed the sword even more.

Sephiroth laughed. Evilly. Evil vilian laughs. They give me the shivers.

"One wrong move and your princess is shit."

Cloud stared wide open. Sephiroth was right. He had control of that bubble. Whatever horrible thing it can do, he could prompt it.

"Now there are 3 choices. A: Let go of the sword and your girl is safe. B: Slice me, but I take her with me. Or C: maybe you can slash me fast enough and save her life before I can even pop the bubble, but you're too weak to make that choice aren't you" Cloud still kept his stance. "Now, put the sword down"

The blond was shaking again. Nothing would be sweeter than killing his rival right then and there. But no, Tifa.

Remember when I said jealousy's a bitch? Screw that. Sephiroth is the real deal.

Cloud hesitantly removed the sword away from Sephiroth's neck. The silver haired man stood up and then

Boom.

He grabbed the Masamune which was lying beside his arm and then slashed Cloud again, across the abdomen. It made Cloud fall on the ground. Sephiroth then kicked him

Gah.

And kicked him again.

And again.

It was agonizing. For both of them. Cloud and Tifa. The young lady hated all this, she couldn't do anything.

Helpless.

Excess baggage.

"Agh! Stop it you bastard!" Tifa screamed. Sephiroth did nothing but look at her.

He then stepped on Cloud's head. Amazingly his spikes were still up. "It's an insult to my pride to win against you in such a useless state." He took his foot out of Cloud and started to walk away. It didn't take too long for him to fade. And along with him, Kadaj and Loz had faded too. So did the bubble of doom.

Once free, Tifa immediately ran to the now, standing up Cloud.

"Cloud!" She helped him up; he was trying his best to stand on his own. "You shouldn't force yourself" She put his arm over her shoulder. "We should get you home, I have whatever we need there" It was hard, hard for her to talk to him like that. She felt so useless.

--

The white sheets of Tifa's bed now had drops and smudges of blood. Not so long ago, the two made their way up. Tifa had to make the maids swear to not tell Mr. Lockheart. Luckily, they agreed. Anyone would've sympathized with both of them.

Tifa made her way to her bathroom to get the first aid kit. Materia, plasters, band-aids, disinfectants, they were all in the box. The raven haired girl couldn't bare look at Cloud. Her eyes were fixed on the kit as she walked.

"You fought wonderfully" Cloud, forced smiled and looked up at her seemingly embarrassed form. He tried to break the ice. It didn't work though. Tifa just shifted her gaze to him, smiled and then went back to staring at the inanimate object.

Tifa sat down beside him, laid the box on the bed and opened it. "Cloud, I'll just treat the wounds normally, the materia would sting too bad" She spoke without looking at him.

She gently started rubbing a wet towel on his bruised arm, after that he applied some sort of ointment. Cloud thought she did it wonderfully. Aerith may have the almighty healing powers but he had to admit, he liked how Tifa gently held and took care of him.

Soon she was done with his arm.

Tifa then looked at his upper torso. As if scared to do it, or to see what damage had been cause in that area, Tifa made Cloud face her and started unzipping his shirt. Cloud, realizing the awkwardness helped her. He helped unzip it and he slid the sleeves down. Once his shirt was out, Tifa started tending the wound on his shoulder.

It was silent.

"Tifa" She looked up too him finally. "Everything else I told you was true, Ava-"

"Shhh. Don't worry. I know, I know. Just relax." She said it in the tenderest way. Cloud simply nodded.

After Tifa wrapped the tissue like material on his shoulder, Cloud felt a drop of warm liquid fall on his arm. It wasn't blood. It wasn't an ointment. It was her tear.

Tifa stopped whatever movements she was doing to the larger slash across his abdomen, she was done, but she still held him. She looked down on the bed.

"I'm sorry" Thinking that it was still about their argument; the injured teen just had to apologize.

"You don't have to be" She still didn't look up.

"You were just always there weren't you?"

Cloud didn't speak, he had to listen. She looked so vulnerable. This was not his Tifa.

"You were always there. You always saved me, from keeping me away from the bullies, to helping me in Mt. Nibel." She bit her lips

"Hell, you even saved me when you didn't know I was that same girl in Nibelheim. You were there to block me from the falling objects in the lab; you saved me from our parents' meeting. You ate the chocobo eyes. You fought those perverts." Tifa gave an unsure laugh. Yea, whether it was coincidental or not or whether it was a big rescue scene or not, Cloud had always been there hasn't he?

"Even when you hated my guts you gave me notes when I was sick. You got me out of that hell of an abandoned lab." She choked up a little bit when she tried to continue "And now with Sephiroth…because of me you're hurt."

What the hell? When did she become so dramatic?

"It's okay" Cloud didn't want her to feel this way. No. Hell no.

But Tifa didn't seem to have heard it. "After what Sephiroth said…" Tifa's grip on him tightened. "I thought…maybe, I am excess baggage…"

What the?!

"Look at me" Cloud wanted to see her face. No way was he going to tolerate her like this. He held her chin up, but her eyes shifted. She didn't look into his eyes just yet.

"Look at me"

She did.

"I'm here because of you" Tifa's tears were swelling up.

"Hey, don't cry damn it"

Cloud was still the same, short tempered but sensitive.

Tifa's tears backed down and she sort of smiled. She found his antics funny. He still didn't know the _right _way to keep a girl from crying, but with Tifa, I guess, his methods were effective.

"Without you, I'd be long gone, so don't say those sorts of things okay?"

She felt somewhat better. Somewhat.

The two stared at eachother for quite a while. No words could've been spoken. They understood through silence anyway.

The blond then caught sight of her lips. He'd been wanting to taste them again since this morning. He just needed one kiss. She needed one too. With all the pressure and twisted fights and problems coming along their way, both just needed some sort of reassurance.

Cloud moved his face nearer to hers and hers moved nearer too.

And yet again. Another surprise. Tifa's father. The two of them instantly moved away from each other.

This wasn't their day.

Mr. Lockheart busted in the room angrily. "Tifa how many times do I have to tell you I don't want this man anywhere near you!"

"DAD!" Great. Just great. Tifa had enough for today; her dad wasn't going to add up to the series of unfortunate events. She wanted to burst, but then she felt Cloud's hand squeeze hers.

"It's fine Tifa, I don't want to cause anymore trouble" Cloud nodded, grabbed his shirt and stood up. "I'll go now Mr. Lockheart" Cloud let down a small bow and then Tifa stood up after him. As if teasing her father, she kissed her boyfriend and then glared at the adult.

Tifa escorted Cloud to the gate.

"Cloud, are you going to be fine?"

The blond nodded and then hugged her securely. Just like kissing her, he wanted to do that since this morning too. They stayed like that for a while. What happened today was just…just..bleh. They finally let go and Cloud kissed her forehead.

"It's alright, I'll just tell Lilen to get someone fetch me in the corner"

"Lilen?!" Her facial expression turned sour. Apparently whatever they talk about stuck to her head.

Cloud let out a small snicker. "My maid."

Tifa smiled in a mix of relief and embarrassment, but she let it go. Then she kissed him one more time in the lips. "Sorry I can't come with you. Take care"

"I will." Another kiss.

--

Later that night, Tifa was lying down her bed newly cleaned bed. She hadn't talked to her father yet. She didn't want to.

The raven haired girl faced the wall. Everything that happened for the past few days was overwhelming, almost too much.

She sighed and faced the ceiling. She closed her eyes to try and relax. Then her phone beeped. She took it from the side of her pillow and checked it.

**1 message received.**

She smiled. It was Cloud, she knew it.

**Hey, are you okay now?**

Of course Tifa replied, they've texted, but not this way. Even with all the stresses she has endured, she still couldn't stop the fluffy feeling.

**Yea. Thanks. How are you? Your wounds? Are you fine all alone?**

In his apartment Cloud smiled. It's mean, but somehow he was fond of her worrying.

**Fine. Not as fine as you though. ;)**

Tifa laughed.

**Naughty! Mmm. Cloud, I'm really sorry. :(**

Cloud smirked.

**I should say sorry. You went through all that trouble. Why don't we try and forget all the Sephiroth mess for now. I've been thinking about this for while, I want to take you out to meet Avalanche tomorrow.**

Tifa bit her lip. She didn't want to look like the self inserting girlfriend.

**Are you sure?**

**Yea, they've wanted to meet you.**

**Well, if that's the case. I'm in.**

**Meet me by the school gates tomorrow.**

**Sure. :)**

The two wasted all their money in sending each other that night. Cheesy stuff and sweet nothings was what they talked about. After all the fuzz, they just needed a time out.

**Mmm. Cloud? You should rest now, I want you to sleep early. Goodnight. Love you. :)**

**Sure Hime. :). Night. Love you too.**

With that last message Cloud put down the phone. A part of him was glad the he got beaten up. It may be a selfish reason but he liked how he and Tifa got closer because of it. He swore though, that he would never show any signs of weakness. Not in front of Tifa. He was ready now. He was ready to protect her. Ready to be all out honest with her. To share everything with her.

--

**Ch0knaT: **Something's wrong with me. I can't write well anymore. ToT. I think some parts in this chappie were just written poorly. Daym. I don't know what's wrong with me.Gomen-ne.

Well, hehe..there,chappie17. I hope you liked it!

Please do read and review. Criticisms are always welcome. There may be some errors, please do point them out and I shall comply. :D

Thanks so much again.


	18. 18 The Legal Age

My Runny Nosed Hime

**Ch0knaT: **-huggles- Thanks so much for the encouragements and reviews, you don't know how much they mean to me. :D

Mmm. So here you go. Chap18. Ehehe. I think I got my grove back. XD

It's longer than the last chappie too. I hope I've improved since the last one too. And I hope you guys will like it. I really really really enjoyed this one and I think I put a lot into it. ;)

Thanks so much for reading up to this chap. Gahaha. Gomen-ne. I just think it's getting far now. Let's see how things will go in the next set of events. XD

Thanks again!

Warning: I do not know how to choose songs. XD

Here goes…

_**My Runny Nosed Hime**_

_**Chapter XVIII: 18 the Legal Age**_

Tifa snuggled closer to Cloud as the chilly air brushed against her skin. Damn. She should've brought a jacket, the air was cold. Good thing Cloud was hot. Tee Hee. Pun intended.

The blond flawlessly maneuvered Fenrir across the busy city. Fifteen minutes ago, the two met up in the front gates of the notorious Midgar High. Just like what they talked about, they were now heading to meet Avalanche.

Somehow the young lady felt like someone was churning butter in her gut. She was excited, that was for sure, but she also felt worried. What if her boyfriend's buddies didn't like her? That would be bad, really bad.

Eventhough, she was THE girlfriend, something told her Cloud wouldn't be able to choose between her and Avalanche. I mean, not that he had to.

She saw how some of his friends were so close to him. She had to, no, she wanted to fit in, not just because she sought to please Cloud, but also because she thought they were worth the friendship. They were not useless people. She had always wanted to meet people out of the 'arrogant rich kid' sphere.

Cloud was nervous too. He was sure his friends would accept her, they were a cheerful bunch and he was quite sure that Tifa isn't picky when it came to friends, but he was still uncertain. What if the two worlds just clash?

Yesterday, when he asked her to come with him, he felt itsy bitsy shaky. What ifs played through his mind. Yea sure Avalanche was a nice cluster of people, but not everyone understood what they did. And of course everyone was not suited for such a life style. But he was optimistic. He's here already, just like what he resolved himself last night. He was ready. Ready to share everything with Tifa.

As the ride progressed, Tifa noticed the change of scenery. From the well-developed clean looking buildings, a set of run down old ones were flashing as they drove by. The clean colors from the main part of the city were turning dull, unsaturated, as if it was fading.

The highway became more jagged too. The long stream of paved roads have ended and now Tifa found herself holding tighter to Cloud than she ever did when riding Fenrir.

The blond took a few more turns before he halted the vehicle. They stopped in this small alley. It wasn't clean. It even looked dangerous if you ask me. There were little puddles of water and some plastic bags, wrappers and cans were scattered.

Not a place to take your girlfriend.

Cloud dismounted the bike and so did Tifa.

"I have to stop here."

Tifa understood. The passage way was already too small. It would be unhealthy for her companion's precious bike. Hn. Sometimes she wonders who Cloud loves more.

Her or the bike?

"How about Fenrir? Is it safe to leave it here?" Tifa said looking at the soon to be abandoned bike.

"Of course it is" Cloud replied with guarantee. Let's just say that he and the locals had an understanding.

Everyone knew where to place themselves when it came to Cloud Strife's possessions

"Shall we go?"

Tifa nodded.

Cloud moved forward to show her the way, as he took a few steps forward, Tifa caught his hand.

The blond looked back at her. He looked at their hands, Tifa held his with both of hers. He then glanced to her face. She had that sort of face… I can't really explain how it looked like but from her expression, you can tell that she wanted assurance.

And there. She got it. Cloud simply gave her hand a squeeze and smiled. "It's going to be fine."

She nodded again.

The two of them made their way through the small damp streets. It took a few turns and a few minutes 'til they reached this wide area. Finally, the slim path ended and it opened up to a large space. It was no longer damp. There was no scattered garbage around it. It was actually a clear dusty space; nothing was protruding the area except for this building.

Seventh Heaven.

The place looked like a club. Just like the other structures in the area it looked worn out. Perfect for a hideout though.

The glasses were dusty and almost opaque. The door was a huge metallic one and the exterior walls were filled with all sorts of graffiti. Nothing was broken though, the window glasses were still complete, the walls, aside from the few cracks, were still well constructed.

"We're here" Cloud gave a smile and then gave a quick, almost friendly kiss on Tifa's lips.

"Not a bad place" Tifa's eyes were focused on the huge metal sign which said "7th Heaven".

Cloud was glad she somehow looked like she appreciated it.

--

"I WIN!" Yuffie exclaimed as she slammed the cards down and gathered materia, gill, jewelry and other sorts of things to her side of the table.

Wait, is that Zack's underwear?! Talk about bets. Hn. Atleast Yuffie can sell it to the fangirls.

"Fuck this Yuffie, you always win" Zack angrily tossed the set of cards he had on his hands. Barret and Cid were equally unhappy. Who wouldn't be? For the last 6 games they've played, Yuffie's been hogging the glory of victory.

Overkill was her goal.

The ninja girl simply stuck her tongue out.

"Another round anyone?" She had that mischievous grin.

"I'm fuckin' out." Cid stood from the chair and made his way to the beer counter.

Yuffie then looked at Zack. He closed his eyes, smirked and shook his head.

Then she looked at Barret. He just raised an eyebrow. The ninja girl knew very well what that meant. She then just grabbed the cards and moved out.

"Gah! None of you are sports." She walked out swiftly. "My materia better be there when I come back!" she screamed without even looking back.

Seventh Heaven was a busy place. I mean, there were enough Avalanche members to fill it up. Aside from the usual bash consisting of Yuffie, Cloud, Zack, Cid, Aerith, Vincent and Barret, there were other groups too. A lot more people were present. Avalanche is growing Gaia wide after all.

The bar looked like one of those pirate hide out places. It was really nice if you ask me. Everyone was talking and all that. The black and white checkered floor was surprisingly clean, well, if you don't tally the occasional liquid spills. The tables either had drinks, cards or all sorts of mercenary merchandise in it. There were billiard tables, arcades, pinball machines. Plus, you could smell the waft of beer and smoke. It wasn't what I'd call a child friendly place though, but for people like Cloud, it will do.

Not so long after Yuffie's display of annoyance. The bells by the door rang.

Someone just entered.

Cloud and Tifa.

The girl's eyes looked around the place. Surprise? Anxiety? What did she feel? Come to think of it, Tifa hasn't really been to anywhere like this.

She fixed her composure. She was worried of what impressions people might get.

The spike head led the way to the table in the farthest left side corner of the room.

Aaah. Finally, familiar faces.

That's a nice start for Tifa right there.

Apparently, Zack and Aerith were the only people who were left from the gang. Zack's arm was over her shoulder and she was leaning against her chest. Well, I guess secrets are out when they were near Avalanche. Cloud was used to it. It sort of surprised Tifa though, she's never actually scene them like that but come on, anyone with half a brain could've figured it out.

Upon seeing them, Zack took his arm of and sat with his arms resting on the table.

"Tifa! Are you here to watch us race?" Zack glared at Cloud when he said the way too sarcastic statement.

Tifa inwardly laughed.

"Cut the crap Zack" Cloud said as he ushered Tifa to sit down the sofa like seat. He was about to sit too when…

"CLOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUD!" It was that familiar shrieky voice. Yea, we know what coming next. GLOMP.

"Mother of-" Cloud couldn't help but take a few steps forward as the ninja girl practically attached herself to him.

Tifa took a deep breath and chanted. "She's a friend. Platonic. Friend. Platonic. Friend. Platonic…"

Yuffie then unattached herself from the Chocobo head when she noticed a new yet familiar face.

"It's Tifa!" She let go of Cloud and sat beside her, with the same jumpiness. "Wow, so is she joining Avalanche too, Cloudy?"

_Cloudy? Who came up with that?_

So okay. They talked about it, but still, she felt a cringe inside her when she heard Yuffie's, rather sweet, name calling. But anyway, enough of that.

JOINING AVALANCHE?

Yuffie, so as Tifa…and later on Zack and Aerith looked at Cloud for an answer.

The blond didn't respond. He just looked down as if thinking. Tifa can fight, yea. She can also handle herself in danger. She was smart. Avalanche material, definitely, but is he really going to let her? Even though she proved all of those things to him, he was still, nevertheless an overprotective boyfriend.

"Spike!" A bulky dark skinned man disrupted the tension and held his spiky haired head between his arms and muffled his hair. Cloud would be superly-dooperly pissed off by now but instead, he actually wanted to thank him and buy him a house. Barret saved his soul.

This was again another surprise for Tifa. She found herself staring. This man was big. Really big. The intimidation meter went down when he smiled at her though. She'd never think she'd easily earn such a gesture from such a person.

She also somehow adored the way he treated Chocobo-kun. Whatever happened to the cool arrogant unapproachable Cloud Strife? It seems like here, he as reachable as 'normal people'. Actually, everyone was reachable. Even Zack and Aerith seemed to be a not big deal. This was totally dissimilar from their school.

Levelheadness. That's what made the difference.

The people surrounding them weren't rich. Anyone can tell. Aside from Cloud, Zack, Tifa, Aerith and maybe even Yuffie, all of these people were normal citizens, some even below average.

Barret finally let go of Cloud's almost numb head. "Who's this beautiful lady?"

"Apparently Tifa Lockheart" A husky voice behind Barret answered the question.

Wow. More surprises keep coming. Cid, they're professor was a part of Avalanche? No wonder Zack and Cloud never treated him with owed respect.

Barret snorted. "So this is the girl who messed up our Cloudy boy."

The pair blushed.

_They all knew about me…_

Cloud was finally going to take his seat but then something disrupted his action again.

Surprises surprises.

A tall silent black haired man with a red coat approached them. Tifa watched him walk. She tried to smile. She couldn't. It was like that Sephiroth thing, only fear wasn't there, darkness wasn't there. Only overwhelming…erm…overwhelming…something.

"Cloud, they have to talk to you." He was serious, and suddenly the blonde's expression became serious too.

He nodded, then quickly bent down to kiss Tifa's forehead. "I'll be right back" After that he stood up and followed the man, and so did Cid, Zack and Barret.

She had no choice but to simply nod and let him be.

--

"Ahh, Cloud" A pail black haired man in a suit greeted him as he walked through the door. The place was sort of like a private lounge. It was cleaner compared to the outside. The air was more refreshing and cooler.

"Take a seat Mr. Strife"

Cloud was keen as he sat down. These guys barely talked to him. They sort of had the highest rank in the group. Having a meeting with them meant there was going to be some ambiguous deed.

The sophisticated man handed him a drink, and gave him an envelope.

"So, I heard about Sephiroth…"

--

Tifa found herself repetitively glancing at the door where Cloud just entered. Why is it taking so long?

"Tifa are you okay?" Aerith said as she sipped her drink.

"Yea." Lie. "Hey, does it really take this long?"

Aerith sort of giggled. "Well, when you're talking to _him_, yea."

"Him?" After one last glance, she focused on what Aerith was saying.

"Him. Yea, he's kind of like the principal here"

"Is…is Cloud on trouble?"

"I honestly don't know Teef, but don't worry" She gave a reassuring smile.

--

Cloud took a sip from whatever he was drinking as he listened to the man's information.

"There seems to be some activity in the Northern Crater. Now Mr. Strife, as we all know; only you and your team have beaten Sephiroth. Only you have done this. And we are hoping you can do it again. But, unfortunately, because of the security can't take everyone in the party. We are yet sure of Sephiroth's intentions but.-"

"Wait a minute. So you bastards want Cloud here, to go to the Northern Crater without any of us?" Barret was mad. He was like Cloud's father here. He likes adventure, he likes risks, but for god sakes, Cloud was only 17. He wanted him to live up to atleast 18 years of age.

The black haired man nodded.

"Well, fuck that!"

"Mr. Wallace, we can't afford delays."

"Then let us come with him"

"I hope you understand."

"What I can't understand is that you blow up reactors everywhere with top notch security systems and suddenly you can't send us in this piece of shoveled off land in the middle of nowhere?" Barret was pointing fingers already.

Zack would have too, but these guys were old scary serious people. I guess he got too traumatized with his dad.

"We are confident with Mr. Strife"

"He is a ki-"

"Barret. I'll be fine." Cloud couldn't help but butt in. He focused his eyes sternly on Barret. He was sort of annoyed. He wasn't a kid. Okay he was. He has the right to choose though, am I correct? The world's peace could all depend on him. Just give him time and he'll kick some Sephy ass. Besides, he didn't want to think about the probability of him being in danger or losing right now.

It's not that he didn't appreciate what Barret did, but just like a teenager with a dad he didn't know the pros and cons of everything.

"You should think about it kid…" Cloud's too stubborn to deserve concern. With that, Barret walked out the room and slammed the door close.

Luckily Tifa wasn't in the table where the actual slammed door was visible. After long girly chats with Yuffie and Aerith, she decided to look around.

The raven haired girl found herself browsing through this huge cork board. It had all sorts of articles in it. There were notes too. Schedules.

Tifa's eyes scanned through the headlines. Avalanche didn't have a pretty name in public. It wasn't even until she knew about their connection with Cloud that she thought she'd give it a chance. She was even appalled with the group before. All they did was destabilize everything. Hn. In fact, right now, Tifa somehow doubts why she's even here.

"_Is she joining Avalanche?"_

In some way she felt like she was in some sort of mess. Maybe it was a mistake to accept Cloud as a part of this organization. The truth is, she overlooked a lot of things. Cloud could've injured or even killed people. Gah. She's insane to let him be in these sorts of situations. Yet, a part of her knew there was something more. Something beyond what the newspapers established. In addition, her friends are here, they can be trusted ne?

"Ei there."

Tifa jerked a bit as he heard the familiar voice. It was that guy again. Uh. Erm. Um. Yea. Barret. Barret's his name

"Hey Barret." She replied with a friendly smile, but to be honest, she wasn't sure if she said the correct name.

"I see, you're interested with our whereabouts e?" After sort of cooling down from the bicker he had with Mr. Principal-man, he decided to talk to the lady of the hour.

"Yea, kind of. To tell you the truth, I don't really know what Cloud does." She lightly scratched her nose with one finger. Embarrassed.

"Well, you should be proud of him." Oh great. Now spiky does owe this man big time. After disagreeing with him, he can still afford patronizing his buddy.

"…"

"He's one of the few who understand the Shinra conspiracy, and at such a young age. Rich kids like him just go off ignorrantly playing Final Fantasy in their PS3's or whatever."

"Conspiracy?"

"Oh come on! Don't tell me a smart girl like you doesn't know"

Tifa just shook her head.

"Mako. We all now about its power and endless uses, but the Lifestream is failing miserably. And sure Sectors and cities like Midgar are rising…but look at the slums"

"Richer people are getting richer…poorer become poorer" Tifa said in a sort of whisper.

"Yes. Gaia's becoming out of balance too. Workers are becoming sick. Everything. It just has to stop."

"Have you ever tried-"

"Handling things legally?" Barret leaned against the cork board. "Countless times missy, it just doesn't work"

Hn. So Avalanche does have a point. At one view or another, they are right. Heroes would be a better name. And besides, they, specifically, Cloud, did beat that Soldier maniac Sephiroth.

Gah. Wait. Wasn't Cloud part of soldier too? There are just so many questions. Cloud better start explaining to Tifa.

--

"Mr. Strife. We can't let anything get any worse. We all know what Sephiroth is capable of"

"When do you want me there?" The blond was serious. Everything else was important too. That was a given, but this may be the only way to protect 'everything else'. He didn't want to go. Never would he want to, but there are people expecting a lot from him. Even he was expecting a lot from himself.

"If possible. On Monday, or even tomorrow."

Cloud choked. Tomorrow was Sunday. It was all too soon.

How about Tifa?

What the hell is happening?

Moojftueroghs. I can't tell you how much Cloud wanted to complain.

He sighed. "I'm in"

--

The Barret and Tifa talk wasn't over yet when cloud went out the room.

She was laughing. "Cloud did that?"

"Did what?" The raven haired girl spun as she heard her boyfriend's voice from behind.

He was as Cloud as ever. The same.

"Barret was telling me how good you are in crossdressing"

"Heh." The tension between the two males was still there. Although everything had slightly mellowed down, he and Barret were still not cool together. They'll make up sooner or later though. They always do.

"Well I got to go, it's my turn in that hell of a room" Sensing the tension he didn't want to complicate Barret walked off and walked back to the door he previously exit.

He was going to try and talk things off isn't he?

Cloud scoffed.

"What is it?"

The blond just shook his head as if saying "Nothing"

Nyar. Cold Cloud.

"Mmm. How did it go then?" Tifa wanted to know. No secrets, remember?

Cloud didn't reply, he just took hold of her and hugged her securely.

_Wha?_

"I'll tell you later" Cloud whispered and then he kissed her. First it was okay. Chaste. Tifa thought it was sweet. But then Cloud was asking for more…As in shoving down the throat more

What the?

Her eyes popped wide open.

They couldn't do that here. What's up with Cloud? Was he really this kind of guy.

Tifa pushed him a little bit. "Cloud we can't do that here?"

Okay. So Cloud wasn't as Cloud as ever. Tifa noticed something different. Was something wrong?

"Why not?" Cloud said plainly.

Playing innocent huh?

"We're in public"

Well, the weeere in a corner. It's not like they were celebrities who people watch all the time right?

"It's alright. Please?" He pulled himself down. Alas. She gave in.

…And got carried away.

Their little. Erm. Big display of affection would've lasted longer if Yuffie didn't butt in.

"Uhuh. Unless you two want to be sued with public display of indecency by ME, you two should get a room" The ninja girl held onto both of their heads and pried them off of eachother. Tifa blushed heavily and then sort of wiped her lips. Cloud licked his.

"Sorry." Both muttered almost inaudible.

"Why don't you two join us? You _did_ bring her to hang out with us, right Cloud? Us not you?"

Tifa laughed.

Cloud rolled his eyes, grabbed his girlfriends hand and walked towards the table.

It was a normal get together. Fun would be the best word to describe it. Tifa was glad they met this people, her look upon Avalanche changed.

She spent the whole afternoon there. Even ate lunch with them. The group found themselves playing cards, pinball-ing, arcade-ing, chatting and all those other -ings. It was nice to spend time like this, I mean, it's been a long while since Tifa hung out with this much people. And let's not forget they were a fun bunch. Yea, Seventh heaven was never that boring old place down the street.

Everything else was normal, except Cloud was so touchy with Tifa. It wasn't offensive, no, nothing like that and it's not like he was never touchy, I mean, even at school, he'd steal some kisses when they were in the line or when they had breaks. But there was just something different today. Like when she had to go to the bathroom, Cloud insisted on waiting outside the door. When they sat down, he had to always securely wrap an arm around her. Or when they walked, he put an arm around her waist.

Tifa was curious though, is it periodic a guy thing? A relationship thing? A Cloud thing?

The raven haired girl most definitely didn't hate it. She found it quite sweet even. But come on, every second? Maybe they just really needed a time out by themselves first. The man said it himself, he was selfish, he had very low self control and he had very strong desires.

4.30 pm.

The bar was slowly emptying. I mean, except for the late night patrons, everyone was packing up to go home.

This didn't exclude our favorite Avalanche party. Barret had gone home with Cid, two hours ago. Both had to go back to their respective families. Barret had to go home to his adopted daughter Marlene and Cid went home to his wife Shera. Right now Yuffie was moving out too, Friday meant they needed her in Wutai tomorrow. Zack and Aerith were leaving also; the boy had promised her parents he'd take her home early today. And he will keep that, for their future's sake.

With everyone leaving, of course Cloud and Tifa went too.

The blonde his raven-haired girl made their way back to where they left Fenrir.

"Thank you so much Cloud" They paused a little while, allowing Tifa to give Cloud an appreciative kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you brought me here"

"I'm glad too. I was actually nervous at first." He smiled.

"Me too. But you kept me optimistic." She said gigglingly.

"I knew you'd like them."

They continued walking.

"Yea, although I do need to get to know that Vincent guy more often, he never talks"

"Hn. I don't need another guy in your social circle"

"Come on Cloud…"

"I'm kidding. Well, you can get to know him. Just a little bit"

She laughed. "Thanks again Cloud, I'm glad we're fine, no more secrets"

_Secrets._

Well. Cloud just may have one more up his sleeve, but he won't keep it for a long time.

"Tifa"

"Mmm?"

"Can I take you somewhere? I just want to show you something."

"Sure, I'm in no rush."

"Good."

In no time the two made their way to Fenrir. Both mounted it. The boy started the engine, the bike roared and soon enough they arrived at that place Cloud had wanted to show.

The location was lofty. It was right beside a highway so Cloud broke a few rules so that his bike could be exactly where they were.

Tifa found herself looking over Midgar. The sun was setting so it looked wonderful. The scene was perfect. Orange sky, feathery cloud, swaying leaves.

Tifa dismounted Fenrir and walked a few steps away from it. She admired the scenery so much. Mmm. She never knew Cloud had a knack for finding these sort of places.

As her eyes moved around to scan the city below them, Tifa wrapped her arms around herself. The high place meant it was breezy, she didn't mind though.

"It's beautiful"

"Nowhere near you." Cloud replied weakly as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, he started softly pressing his lips on the bare skin by her neck.

After savoring her boyfriend's rather gentle gestures, she grabbed his arms, brought it away from her waist and she turned around and faced him. Her hands were still holding onto his arms which were now resting on his sides.

The both of them ended up staring for quite al long time. They've come a long way haven't they? Man, a love story 10+ years in the making. It must've felt really nice to finally be where they are now.

Their faces moved closer and closer and closer…until their lips met.

They've done it tons of times, but there was something about _now _that made a difference. Maybe it was the necessity for it.

Cloud gently slid his tongue onto her mouth causing her to moan lightly. And here we go again. The tongue dance. Tifa directed his arms towards her waist. There, it was perfect; she just took her hand to his hair and played with it. Perfecter.

It was nice sweet, yet pleasurable.

But, for breath, both of them had to let go.

"We have to learn how to make those things longer" Cloud breathed out, their faces were still dangerously close.

"Mmm. You've wanted to kiss me ever since this morning haven't you?"

"Genius! Did you figure that out all by yourself?!' Cloud said sarcastically.

"Drop it Cloud" Tifa smiled, but then she realized how strange he's been acting. I mean, even his lips felt different

"Cloud, is there anything bothering you?"

"No" As if avoiding the talk Cloud went in to kiss her again. Her girlfriend couldn't help but be a little bit worried, but she thought maybe it is just a guy thing. Or a relationship thing. Or a cloud thing.

The next lip clash wasn't as innocent as the first one, erm. If you'd put the first one in innocent category.

This one had a blend of lust.

Both exchanged the kiss with almost equal fervor. More effort on Cloud though. Somehow the two ended up leaning against the bike. He slowly began shifting his weight to her, causing her to also slowly lay her back on Fenrir. He then moved from her lips to her jaw.

Another moan.

But. Something was really different.

Cloud continued his nibbling actions going up to her ear, when he heard her speak.

"Cloud…"

He was busy.

"Cloud, can you look at me one second"

Almost reluctantly the blond traced kisses across her cheek and then kissed her nose one last time. Now he was looking straight into her whine colored eyes.

She slipped her hand away from his chest and she held the side of his face. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

Cloud, not taking in the seriousness Tifa was exerting, brushed his lips lightly on to hers. "No. Nothing's wrong"

His voice was plain. Again.

"You've been acting weird today. With all the stolen kisses and the holding hands…"

"Tifa…"

"I know it's normal but something feels…"

"Tifa…I just..." His face got nearer "want…" Nearer. "You" Okay. Distance gone.

He said there was nothing wrong. There was nothing wrong. A guy thing, a relationship thing or a Cloud thing. Whatever. He said there was nothing wrong.

He was never the wordy type. This was his way of showing more freely how he felt.

Cloud's kisses became more eager with almost every second. Tifa pulled him closer, she wanted more too you know. Cloud push against her against the bike was growing too. It bliss. Yea. Momentary bliss. But then, Cloud got rougher. And damn it, it hurt Tifa's back.

Okay. So it wasn't a guy thing or a relationship thing or a Cloud thing. He said nothing was wrong. I don't thinks so. Something was certainly wrong.

She let out one moan. It was different from the others. It was a sign of some sort of pain. Cloud immediately shifted his weight to lighten her load. He stopped nibbling her neck and faced her.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked as he cleared one lock of hair away from her face.

"I'm sorry" the blond sort of repositioned himself. Well. It made things a lot more comfortable for Tifa.

But wait. That's not the issue here.

"Cloud." Gah. What is he a 6 year old?

Cloud tried going back to her neck.

She slightly pushed him off. "Cloud something's wrong"

That ruined his mood.

The blond completely got off Tifa, allowing her to stand straight again.

"Hey. What's wrong?"

Concern.

Cloud didn't answer. He just looked at the panorama before them.

Here we go again.

"Cloud, you promised."

"I" He finally spoke. "I know, I know. I was going to tell you later." He looked back at her.

"Tell me, come on. I don't want any fuss, specially with the dance coming."

Oh shoot. Yea. Cloud and I totally forgot about that one.

A dance.

A dance was coming up next week.

"Tifa, I might not even be home for the dance"

Both of her eyebrows neared each other in curiosity.

"I have to go to the Northern Crater to look for Sephiroth."

_This is unbelievable. _

She at last laced the puzzle pieces together.

"So that's why you were acting weird…" It was Tifa's turn to look down. She wanted to ask more questions. Have more details, but she didn't want to talk about it either. Not right now. She, actually, if it was possible never wanted to talk about it. She didn't want to be reminded that Cloud was going off somewhere with that psycho-maniac-sadist.

"I'm going to miss you" Cloud said. Mmm. No wonder he was so touchy.

After that was a long moment of silence.

…

…

…

Finally, Tifa raised her head and faced the blond with a smile.

Nice shot at trying to be cheerful.

"If you can't make it for the dance…" Without completing the sentence, she stood up and turned on the radio, it was playing soft songs. It was surprising, almost scary that she knew how to. Adrenalin perhaps?

"Then you have to dance with me right now" She stood up and pulled Cloud to her.

She placed his hands on her waist and then she took her own and wrapped it around his neck.

"Do you know that this is probably the corniest thing I'll ever do?" Cloud smiled.

"Shut up Cloud. You owe me" She rested and nuzzled her head under his chin. He felt her smile.

He called it corny, but then he started swaying too.

She always knew how to lighten his frame of mind.

Silence again. Her smile faded.

_I was happy meeting you,_

_And proud of our holding hands,_

_Even though we look up to different skies now,_

_See? I can walk on my own now.._.

"Cloud" His name was never pronounced any softer.

"Mmm?"

"When are you leaving?"

"Monday. Or even tomorrow"

Silence.

_Even though we look up to different skies now,_

_See? I can walk on my own now.._.

"Cloud"

"Mmm?"

"How long will it take you?"

"I don't know"

Silence again.

_I laugh more during sad times,_

_To hide the pain I feel inside,_

"Cloud"

This time, Tifa looked at him. He looked back.

"You'll be home soon right?"

He didn't answer that one. Instead he pulled her closer to him and she rested her head back below his chin.

Looong silence. Both closed their eyes, savoring the moment.

_But you hugged me gently without saying a thing_

_I felt as if it were like opening a door frozen in ice..._

"Cloud" She didn't bother to open her eyes.

"Yea?"

"I don't want to go home tonight"

"I won't let you"

The world and its damn problems just needed to fucking wait. Can't Gaia give them a break? They deserve an escape, tonight would be it and until that scorching ball of flaming crap rises tomorrow morning, nothing else would matter but the two of them.

End. Bet you didn't see that coming.

Seriously though, it's done.

--

**Ch0knaT: **Now, that there is a perfect demonstration of how you should not end a fic. Ehehe. Epitome of fail. XD

Ho noes. The last scene was like Highwind Night all over again. XD

I go with Fanfiction .net's tagline "Unleash Your Imagination"

I'm sorry to keep everyone hanging. ToT . Now I shall go up a hill, hide under a rock and hold a cellphone that's ready to dial Social Security. –swaeatdrop-

Uhm. The song I used is actually Japanese, I only put the translation though. The title is **Karenai Hana by Shimokawa Mikuni**. It's really nice and sweet.

Mmm. I'm also trying to make a one-shot of what happened _that night_ but honestly, I don't know what to put in it. Maybe you can make one; it'll be such an honor for me. :D

I will have a sequel for this fic though, that's for sure. I'm just not really sure when I'll post it. I also have another story, which I could hopefully start soon, even tomorrow, but I'm not really sure (once again), since I'll be going out of the country for a while, please don't expect much. ToT.

I'm really sorry for the inconvenience, I will not die though (writing wise), I'll try and do updates as much as I can. And WILL make and complete a sequel, I can't promise the 'when' though. But it'll come :)

Whaa. I'm just so happy people read this. And again. I can never thank you guys enough for the reviews and support. You are my pillar.

Thank you so much. I've grown from writing this fic and of course I still have lots to improve, but still, thanks so much. :)

Please do read and review. Criticisms are always welcome. There may be a few errors, please feel free to point them out so I can fix it. :) –hands out last batch of cookies-

Thanks again.

PS: Shameless plug: I hope you guys try out:

**Blue meets Green meets Ruby Red.**

_Cloud has a twin?!_

Hehe. The first chappie is the summary, please do check it out and leave a review. :D


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